Recovery
By KJSA--
Recovery: it’s a word that both expresses something positive and negative. On one hand, recovery demonstrates that things are getting better every day. At the same time, it also has to acknowledge that something bad happened which caused you to be in a time of recovery from that instance. Even if it was a surgery which saved your life, the doctors still had to cut into your body and then stich it up. While the end result will be much better, for the meantime, you’re in pain and need to rest.
Watching others go through recovery is much different than going through it yourself. And each person’s experience is as different as their DNA. How could I possibly have stepped into the experience of my husband as he recovered from his appendectomy? Not even the doctor knew exactly what he was feeling or what he would need to go through to arrive at full recovery. Now, as I am recovering from a stomach surgery of my own, no one seems to fully understand what I’m feeling or what I need at each hour of the day in order for my body to fully recover. Experts can give me advice on what has helped others in the past – and much of their advice is helpful. Then there are other times I describe a certain position I need to lay in to find relief from the pain, and they can only reassure me that everyone’s process is unique and to keep doing what I feel I need to do to recover. So this requires me to pay attention to my own body, to understand what I need, to ask for help and rely on others while asking them to be very patient with me.
In much the same way, the signs of spring I see out my window demonstrate that the earth in its seasons also recovers from harsh winters. Whereas last week the sky was dark and cloudy and we had to bundle up all day to stay warm, today I see sunshine peeking through and flowers growing, and I’m content without a sweater.
Today, I looked at the calendar and realized that March has come once again. Can you believe it’s been a whole year since the world was rocked by the pandemic? A whole year. And while many good things may have come from more time with our families and learning how to improve our immune systems, we are all in need of recovery. And as diverse as we all are, I know this will be a unique season of recovery for each of us. No one can fully understand how we each need to recover. So, this requires us to pay attention to our body, our mind, our emotions, our heart. We’ll need to decide what it is we need – even if this means asking experts to give some advice on what has helped others in similar situations. We’ll need to rely on others around us and offer help as we are able. We’ll need to ask others to be patient with us and admit that we are still recovering. We’ll also need to be patient with those we encounter during our day – whether it’s co-workers or people at the store or on the road or a neighbor.
Slowly, I know I’m recovering. It requires me to take stock of myself each morning and notice what is better or different. I’m choosing to rejoice in what I’m able to do again without pain. I’m relishing each new food I’m able to eat. I’m learning new rhythms of rest and taking comfort that God is not asking me to go any faster than my limits currently allow me. May this be a new season of recovery for you – and may you learn new rhythms of checking in with yourself and finding joy in new things each day. Don’t rush the process. It all takes time – just like a spring flower pushing its way through hard and frozen soil. And may we find ourselves stronger in our faith because of this time of recovery.