Issue #10
All was well until one day…
during
the
MCO,
By: Deborah Chow
I had been having some discomfort on my foot for a couple of days but did not pay much attention to it. As the pain and discomfort intensified, I massaged and applied ointment. I guessed it was all too late as my foot was inflamed and swollen by the next morning. The pain was excruciating, and I could not even walk for a week! Simple tasks such as getting a cup of water was just so difficult.
Then a verse came to my mind “remember what is good!” and that is found in Philippians 4:8 which says “Finally my brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praise-worthy, meditate on these things.”
One morning as I sat staring at my aching foot, a thought flashed through my mind ‘a thorn in the flesh’. The apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:7 that a thorn in the flesh was given to him – probably referring to the persecutions or hardships that he faced. My thorn was not in that sense but rather a discomfort, inconvenience and a nagging pain because of a swollen foot. Then, images of people who had a thorn in the flesh came to my mind. Some had recovered and some are still struggling in their predicament.
Feeling incapacitated myself, I began to think of the good things that happened. I remembered Mutton Biryani (just a few days before swollen foot, I tried my hand on cooking mutton biryani) – I recount the encouraging comments received, I remembered my husband’s happy expression. I also remembered those who cooked for me during that period, then a smile was edged on my face! My heart felt better and comforted.
At that moment, I could to a certain extent identify with Paul and many others as they each go through the thorn in their flesh. I could understand their feeling of being ‘useless’ and incapacitated by their circumstance. It is not being negative or pessimistic – people going through pain, hardship, sickness does experience being useless and restricted mobility. As I sat there, I wondered, is there an antidote to such emotional feelings?
Indeed, I think this is a good antidote for all of us to practice whenever we are overwhelmed by a thorn in the flesh. By shifting our focus from the thorn to good memories, we are actually learning to count the goodness of God in our lives.