Plugged Ears

Over the weekend I finally caved. I have been battling a cold for several weeks now and with that has come issues with my ear. I'm the type of person who will try every home remedy before I begrudgingly succumb to asking for help. There are several reasons for that- mainly because being a SAHM of 3 kiddos, that I also homeschool, doesn't allow much time for things like that. Anyone who has had to cart their entourage with them while attempting to see a doctor can relate.

Any of these scenarios are completely possible during a medical visit:

1. Children (usually of the male gender) decide that the waiting room is a great place to play WWF wrestling.
2. Children decide to ask incessant and often socially inappropriate questions about other patrons in the room...Very. Loudly.
3. Children take advantage of the fact that mom has an encyclopedia's (that's a big collection of books that increases your knowledge of things for those of you that are of the "pre-Google" age) amount of paperwork to fill out even though none of your information has changed since the last time you were there. (To be fair, the last time I went in everything is paperless now so this may be a thing of the past. SO relieved.) They know that mom is distracted, so insert any possible scenario of trouble here.
4. Children decide to open every drawer/container/push every button possible in the room. With that comes a constant mind-numbing "What's that? What does that do? What is this for?? Why??" (Imagine me banging my head against a wall....)

Any of this sound familiar? If so...I salute you, you brave souls. I've been there too. We may laugh about it now, but it is certainly not any sort of humorous when you know you have to do it again.

So now you may understand a little bit of my reluctance to go to the doctor. And that's just scratching the surface.

So this time I waited. I kept thinking, "It's not really that bad. It'll get better." But I didn't know what was brewing inside. I waited until I couldn't take another millisecond of misery. But because I waited, it was the weekend when I finally caved. And because it was the weekend, my doctor's clinic was closed. Ugh. So off to Urgent Care I went. Why you ask? Well I would've braved it through the weekend, except that I woke up that morning with my ear COMPLETELY CLOGGED. I couldn't hear a thing! Talk about an absolutely horrible sensation! So off I went (kidless BTW since the hubs was home-it was almost like a vacation...).

Turns out, it was just wax. So gross. I'm definitely not cut out for medical care. Ick.

It had built up more quickly than usual since I've not been feeling well. But fortunately, it was an easy fix. But it wasn't the most pleasant experience. Not only was it uncomfortable to have my ear irrigated, but after it was cleared I had the worst vertigo I've ever experienced. It was absolutely horrible.

But it turns out there was no infection (which is good), but there is a lot of irritation in it that can turn to infection if I don't monitor and take care of it.

So why am I sharing this with you (if you're still with me and I haven't completely grossed you out yet)?

Well as I thought about this whole thing, it occurred to me that it mirrors something in our own lives.

Sin.

I don't know about you, but I don't like to be wrong about things....and I certainly don't like being "called out" on the ugly parts of my life. As a recovering people-pleaser, there is nothing more devastating to my pride than being wrong and having it pointed out. (A shot in the gut.) But that's exactly what needs to happen when there is a recurring sin condition in our lives.

Just like I'm often too stubborn to go to the doc, we are often too prideful to recognize and admit sin in our own lives. We try everything we can to cover it up or fix it on our own. But the reality is, is that we can't. If we were able to fix it ourselves, there would've been no need for Christ to come.

But, there are also times that we need our brothers/sisters in Christ to lovingly call us out on some things. We may be blinded to our sin. We may not be aware that the problem goes deeper than we can see. That's why we have each other. We are to have one another's back- constantly praying for one another and lovingly pointing each other to our Savior. Sometimes the process of sanctification (becoming like Christ) is messy and uncomfortable. In order to walk away from our sin, we have to "die to self". Friends...that's painful no matter what it is. And often times there may be a domino effect of consequences that comes from the choices we've made. Those can and usually are painful as well and they may even leave scars.

However, the final result is worth all of that. To be like Christ. To be in communion with Him. To be living a life that brings Him glory and is aligned with His will. There is nothing greater. Nothing at all. And it's worth every painful, gut-wrenching, soul-bearing strip that falls away during the process.

So if you're walking in sin- stop. Turn around and run back to Christ. The journey may be long and difficult, but I guarantee you it's way better than the path you're on. And sweet friend, you don't have to do it on your own. Lean into Jesus and ask the Church (His hands and feet) to walk it with you. He's waiting for you. He loves you more than anyone else ever has or could. So don't leave your ears plugged, don't resist the help that's there. The problem will just get deeper and worse with time and you will be that much farther away from your loving, merciful, forgiving, adoring Savior. True joy and relief is found only in Him. So don't wait :)