Frozen Peas and Spiritual Growth

So last night I came home from band/worship practice with a piercing headache; rather more of a migraine. As I lay on my bed with a frozen bag of peas on my head ... yes peas ... ok hold on ...

Let me stop for a moment as I endorse something. Last time I had a headache I was laying on my bed and asked my wife for an ice pack. She brought over not an ice pack, but a frozen bag of peas. Really? Frozen peas? Is this the 1950's? Perhaps steak next time? Well, apparently our ice packs were in the outside fridge, which for the record keeps things at a nice consistent room temperature; yeah, it's working great. Anyway, in lieu of using a tepid sack of nothingness on my head from the outside fridge/freezer, I was thankful to have something. And you know what? Wow do they rock! Cold, long lasting, and completely flexible and conforming to your head ... super! I'm buying more ... I get my ice packs from Trader Joe's.

So back to my story, yes, a frozen bag of petite peas from Trader Joe's was placed on my head and it was quite lovely.

A while later, it started to go away, so thankful! And as it was dispersing I was overcome with the amazing feeling of relief. Even though nothing physically changed in my life, I actually felt better than before my headache even started! Ever experience that? Stomach aches are the same for me too ... they are horrible ... but once I get the feeling that it's gone, and the pain goes away, the amazing sense of relief comes over me and I feel emotionally fantastic!

What a great feeling!

As the peas were tossed to the floor (in the bag still, don't worry) I shared this with my wife and we related it to Spiritual Growth. The pain, suffering, challenges, and discomfort that life can bring, if channeled through Him, will leave us with this amazing sense of appreciation, thankfulness, and matured faith. As a human, we can psychologically be thankful for lessons learned through challenges and manage them better next time (one worldview). Or, with a Christian worldview, we can have the same benefits in addition to drawing closer to God in a very real way. We don't just have the confidence and fortitude to fight the battle better next time, we know Who really fights for us, and can rest in Him no matter where life leads. We may not be able to expect how life will be, but we know what to expect from Him. There is a reality out there that is waiting for all of us to discover that you have to believe first in order to see.

The sense of relief that comes from a passing headache pales in comparison to the relief that comes from His Truth. I pray you come to know Him.

However, the challenge is, you can't "Give God a shot." thinking all along that this faith thing is weird but wait for something magical to happen - that's not how He works. You give Him your life, and you have a new one in return. Why bother? All I can say is that it's worth the sacrifice - and as I stumble along with my own foolishness and sins, I still can say that I desire Him to be the center of everything in my life. He constantly guides me, corrects me when I'm being stupid, and loves on me each step of the way. Before He returns, or before you close your eyes for the last time on this earth, I pray you make the right choice on the most important decision in your life.

"The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:14

I know this sounds foolish to many; as it did to me at one time. After all, if God was real, wouldn't He just show up, prove Himself, say who He was, throw around some powers/miracles to amaze people, and at least tell people the truth to end all this confusion?

     He did - that was Jesus

His,
~Matt