Flat Feet

As far back as I can remember, I have endured the discomfort of flat feet. It’s not as though my arches are low; they are practically non-existent. I mean, my feet are as flat as the tabletop upon which my laptop now sits. They are F-L-A-T. Because of my feet, I would often get lower leg injuries and had hip and back pain in my college days. They even disqualified me from getting into Jump School (where they don’t really teach you to how to jump, but rather how to fall) when I was in ROTC. Oh, the Army would still let me in all right; but only if I’d sign a waiver that would indemnify them of all responsibility if my feet were injured. I didn’t sign.

I DID have plastic supports over the years but they never quite did the trick. Eventually, I saw a podiatrist who took one look at my flimsy inserts and declared that they weren’t worth two cents. He had custom orthotics fitted for me (which cost my dad over twenty-two thousand times what my old ones were deemed worth…$450) and I went through the fitting process of using them a little each day until my body had aligned itself. The supports work by locking my ankles into a correct alignment. It was amazing! I was finally able to walk without pain. Lower leg injuries became a thing of the past. I couldn’t believe how precious a pair of carbon fiber inserts could be. “Worth their weight in gold,” I’d often remark.

That was fourteen years ago. Although my orthotics began to show their age, I paid no mind. “They’re carbon fiber; they’ll last longer than I will!” Or so I thought. Turns out, they’re only supposed to last about five years. The past few years, I’ve had chronic back pain, but never blamed my orthotics. When I discovered that there indeed was an expiration date, I decided to check out how much new ones would cost. I did this with a lot of trepidation because if these things set my dad back $450 in a PREVIOUS century, how much would they cost now?

They’re actually less expensive now (but not cheap by a long shot) and so I went to get new supports. To make a long story short, I am in the middle of getting used to my new ones. Today was day three, and I wore them for three hours. I’ve been cautioned that during this adjustment period, I’m likely to experience some pain. My body is noticing that something is up.

My body DOES NOT want to realign to a new set of insoles. After the daily ritual of replacing my new ones with the old ones, my feet sigh with relief, “This is what I’m supposed to feel like,” they seem to tell me. But nonetheless, I add another hour each day. I know that through this discomfort, I’m actually allowing my body to work like it’s supposed to.

It is through disciplining ourselves that we get to where we want to be. Where we need to be.

Straightening out our bodies is not the only discipline that challenges us. There is physical discipline in getting up early in the morning for a walk around the block, or a trip to the gym. There is dietary discipline where we begin to make better overall choices in what we eat. There is mental discipline in learning new things. There is schedule discipline where we discover that there IS plenty of time to do what’s most important to us.

Then there’s spiritual discipline. And this discipline is different because it’s not what we do, but rather, what we ALLOW God to do that changes us to be more like Him.

Like all discipline, we tend to shrink away from it. We get so comfortable in how things are, that we don’t really want to embrace change.

What disciplines do you need to work on? What are some areas in your life that could use direction that would lead to a healthier you? What are some areas that God might to want to work in you?

Joe


Related Scriptures
Proverbs 1:1-7
These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel. Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise. Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair. These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young.

Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables, the words of the wise and their riddles. Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Colossians 2:20-3:11
You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world.

But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

Galatians 5:22-23
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

John 15:4-5
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

NLTse