Brrr ... That's Cold!

     Upon finishing my first 16 mile run I felt pretty good. In a desire to keep that good feeling I opted for an ice bath when I returned home. Yes, I know, the term "ice bath" doesn't typically coincide with feeling good. However, after lots of long miles on legs that are unfamiliar with those miles, it can feel blissfully numbing as it keeps them from swelling and becoming painful. Besides, if I'm crazy enough to run 16 miles it's not too difficult to figure I just might be crazy enough to plunge my lower half into a bath full of cold water. There are those who actually add bags of ice to their water. I'm not one of those. I'm happy with cold water straight out of the faucet. On that note, I walked in our bathroom, turned the thermostat up to 75 degrees (I'm not crazy enough to do this in a cold bathroom), put on a warm sweatshirt, grabbed a book for distraction and took the plunge. It was only the first few minutes that were uncomfortable. Those first minutes were filled with uncontrollable shivering as my body tried to shake a little common sense into my obviously overheated brain. I could practically hear it screaming at me, "What are you doing, you crazy woman?" But then it's as if my muscles figured out the cold water didn’t feel so bad and in fact helped their fatigue. Suddenly, they relaxed. The shivering stopped and I could hear them utter a simple, "Ahhh..." My hands were now able to steady the book in front of me and I proceeded to read while the cold water did its work. I actually had to force myself to stop reading when my time was up. I finished my ice-bath with a warm wash of my hair using the handheld. It felt so good! The warm water over my head totally hid the fact that I was still sitting in bitterly cold water.


     My relationship with God is often like an ice bath. There are times where I spend too much time doing something that injures my spirit. Maybe it was letting a temptation get the best of me. Perhaps it was following God’s leading and simply reaching a point where I needed rest. Whatever the cause of my wounded spirit, God recognizes when His healing hand is required. In those moments He takes me aside and offers me a hard and somewhat painful but ultimately healing “ice bath”.

     When spurred by sin, the initial plunge of His healing can result in painful memories and truths being brought to attention. I am stripped of all pretenses and find myself shivering as I am forced to recognize the cold of my own heart. Only then can I feel the warmth of His love as His forgiveness washes over me.

     Sometimes the reason for a godly ice bath is simple rejuvenation of my spirit. Stopping to rest is not always easy. It may require setting aside my pride and admitting I am weak on my own. What a cold and hard truth for my independent nature to accept. But this is no surprise to God. As my father he knows I am but a simple child in need of a nap. He knows where my strength resides and understands what my physical body needs in order to run again.

     Yes, the ice bath hurts initially but without its healing capability I could quite possibly find myself injured, side-lined and unable to continue training for my marathon.  Therefore, I will continue to take those baths even when I feel pretty decent after a long run.  Nothing hurts?  Great!  I'm in the bath for preventative measures.  May it be so in my relationship with God.  Everything going well?  Nothing painful?  No major sins swelling up?  Great!  I still need to go to God and ask him to show me my heart through His eyes as a preventative measure.  By regularly seeking His counsel and healing I can avoid the major downfalls that would injure and side-line me.  I don't want to finish this race called life by crawling.  I want to finish it upright and sprinting into the arms of my King.     

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.  Don't be impressed with your own wisdom.  Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.  Then you will have healing in your body and strength for your bones. " 
Proverbs 3: 5-8