Reflection in excruciation

For the past 5 days, pain has became an uninvited visitor in my life. 

With unknown reasons, I have this severe neck pain. I thought it was from those normal pain from bad sleeping position, but it's not that. The pain grows and intensified. Advil and Tynanol started to lose their effectiveness after taking them every 4 hours for 3 days. I ended up had to turn to acupuncture for relief. Boy, I am amazed by how effective acupuncture is. After 24hrs, the pain came back with greater intensity. I literally immobilized ... all I can do is to stop what I was going, endure the pain, wait for it to subsides. Man ...

This afternoon, sudden severe pain came, I dropped what I was doing and wait again. It's such an experience, I was calm, though painful, and waited in pain. At some point, I literally cried out to God "救~~命~~呀~~天~~父~~好~~痛~~呀~~~~~~!!!" Well, at times, it was so painful that I kept singing 叮噹's theme song (Don't ask me why, I just felt like shouting the song out in pain)! hahaha ... but as these pain episodes reoccur, I learn how to manage it ... that's to WAIT. 

I guess there are times in our lives when we could just do nothing but to wait till the pain subsides. Frustration would just get the pain worse ...

Went for another acupuncture session for an hour, it's better now ... but ... I won't be overjoy, as it could come back anytime, but to enjoy the less-pain moment with reading, writing papers and writing my blog! haha ... after this acupuncture session, I am so serious in learning about acupuncture ... as a part of healing! 

hahahaha ... Man ... it's ... life-saving!!!!!!!!

The hope of Redemption

"...God is actively involved in redeeming us, in restoring us to complete relationship with him. God pursues us in the most loving yet unrelenting fashion. The thought of this gives the therapist great hope. In the midst of a busy day of seeing clients whose lives are torn by the effects of sin - despair, chaos and confusion - it is hopeful to think God's active redemptive pursuit of those clients. When the client seems unloveable, strongly defensive, actively psychotic or in some other way distant reflecting on God's active pursuit of that person in the process of redemption brings hope and a renewed sense of empathy. In a real sense redemption is restorative, and reflecting on God's redemptive work can bring a restorative pause to a draining day ..." (Integrative Psychotherapy by McMinn, M.R., p. 45)

this is the basis of a Christian therapist's professional integrity ... 

after all ... it applies to those who are called to restore lives ...

Lorraine's Disney park