Poking myself to see if I am in the medically healthy range has now become the advice of my doctor and the Diabetes Training Clinic staff. It is new to me personally, though I have known many over the years that have been in the same situation. Purposefully poking oneself to draw blood seems to be counter intuitive yet we know that it is the common practice to determine present status and to guide us toward better decisions regarding our well-being.
As I sat to write these thoughts for your consideration, I was interrupted by a friendly offer from a fully knowledgeable and long-time credentialed person in the medical field. He wondered if there might be people in the church who may wish to talk informally and confidentially about medical terms or issues they are dealing with but don’t fully understand. (Clarifying understanding not giving medical advice.)
What better example could I ask for than this very offer?
How do we poke ourselves to see if we are in a spiritually healthy range? What symptoms do we have that push us toward the need to examine more carefully our spiritual well-being? Is it because someone has noticed something in us and may suggest we act on the question? Perhaps we have identified odd symptoms in ourself and choose to seek out advice, conversation and prayer.
The resources are freely available in scripture and pastoral presence. Consider this a poke. It may be free but it is not without a cost to you personally.
