pain Archives - Kristin Saatzer

Grateful for Dental Pain?

August 1, 2017 By Kristin Saatzer 3 Comments

The Practice of Gratitude Part 7

Some dental pain is the worst kind of pain! Can I get an Amen?

And I am no stranger to pain. At times, it has been my constant companion. I will spare you my list of experiences with this formidable foe. Just know: I know of what I speak.

These last 10 days I endured almost unrelenting tooth fun. I am close to awarding this experience with my “worst-pain- ever” prize. The torture stopped for a few hours during the numbness of a root canal. Never had I looked forward to a dentist visit like the one I did that day, knowing I’d have a few pain-free hours. Twisted, I know.

Are you still with me? Because root canals and dental pain make for catchy, riveting blog posts. Something to brighten a day, right? If you are still here, thank you for staying. You are my support group today and you should get your own prize.

So, how can I be grateful for level 10 dental pain? God reminded me through this trial, that I do best when I go to gratefulness. Consequently, each day, I took out my gratitude journal and listed things like the following: medical insurance, dental care, friends that pray and check in, a greater empathy for those in acute pain, my mom and sister’s concern, my husband sitting up with me at night in my tears. This is good stuff.

As I go even deeper in my contemplation of these 10 days, I find I am profoundly grateful for God’s presence. You see, during the severest nights, when I couldn’t pray, I cried out to my Jesus. I cried out His name repeatedly.Continue Reading

When Joy Meets Sorrow

November 15, 2016 By Kristin Saatzer 12 Comments

I am not writing today while feasting my eyes on a beautiful landscape of autumn’s delights. Nor am I wearing cute boots and a seasonal scarf. I am a southern California girl, sitting outside in shorts and bare feet, feasting my eyes on a dying lawn because I’m not allowed to water in this drought.

However, the calendar tells me it is Fall. I laugh at the contradiction of pumpkins melting on porches while warm Santa Ana winds blow. We SoCal’s drink our Pumpkin Spice Lattes as we dream of wearing socks. This is the autumn season in my world.

Eventually, the air will cool and we will wear socks again and drink our lattes without sweating. A welcome change.

Sadly, a season of unwelcome change blew into my life. Into my heart. Into my home. This intruder wreaked havoc in incalculable ways. This change flooded every area of my life, seeming unreal. Impossible.

Our financial situation reversed from stable to dire. Family members moved from happy to heartbroken. My health shifted from strong to weak. In the midst of these countless trials, we experienced grief and upsets: our beloved Golden Retriever died and my second son left for college. Nothing but change, loss, sadness and pain for months.

In childhood, when I complained about an unwelcome shift in my life, my grandpa quoted an old cliché, “the only thing constant is change”. I am in a season where this holds true. I never know what will move next. Truthfully, none of us does. Change is a guarantee. Not one of us gets a pass on pain or difficult periods. No one. Jesus promised us this in John 16:33 (NLV):

“…Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows, But take heart,

Because I have overcome the world.”

As a Christian, I have a choice: will I shrivel up in my pain or will I hold on to God with everything I’ve got?

In this terrible-changing season of my life, I’ve chosen/am choosing, to hold on to Jesus.

“Immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy…”

2 Corinthians 6:10 The Message

The paradox of my life these days is that I’m drowning in tears, yet filled with inexplicable joy.

I wish I could jot down an easy five-step plan. But there is no plan and it is not easy. It is messy and hard.Continue Reading

A Pattern of Hope

February 11, 2015 By Kristin Saatzer 3 Comments

Why, my soul, are you downcast?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him,

My Savior and my God.

Psalm 45:3

Starry night

The nurse asked me to rate my pain level on a scale of one to five. One to five? Fifteen I screamed in my head! Then I breathed deeply and replied, “three”. A seemingly brave yet dishonest answer.

A simple surgery gone bad. A predicted one-week recovery turned into months of pain.

Yet another season of my life spent in physical pain and emotional defeat. Downcast and disturbed much like our favorite Old Testament shepherd turned king- David.

I love the Psalms. In the high and low turns of my life, I always go there. One-hundred and fifty Psalms written as poetry, prayers or music by fifty-seven authors.

Psalm forty-five, verse three is a repetition verse. These same words were spoken by David three times, refrains written by a hurting soul. When something repeats in scripture, I take notice. In this particular refrain, I see a pattern.

In the first part of the Psalm, David asked questions to himself, “Why my soul are you downcast…Why so disturbed within me?”

Me too David, me too.

To myself I’ve asked, “Why am I so down?” “What is wrong with me today?” To God, “God, why are you allowing me to suffer yet AGAIN?”

You too?

Life on earth is one big question mark.

And my friend, it is OK to ask. That’s what the people in the Bible did and so can we. Unload your heart to Him. We don’t have to be brave yet dishonest with our pain because He is the Mighty Counselor. He knows the pain you are experiencing is a fifteen and not a one.

But we must not stay here though, in this place of asking. It is essential to take the next step or bitterness and discouragement will consume us.

As we peek at part two of this Psalm, we see that David turned to HOPE and PRAISE after his time of questioning. “…Put your hope in God and I will yet praise Him…”

The Greek definition of hope is: confident expectation.

This is no willy-nilly kind of hope. This is a confident hope in knowing that our God is for us. We wait with expectancy, remembering He is there, no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in.

Next, after choosing to hope, David chose praise. Praise is my greatest comfort in trials. I call it “praise-therapy”. We praise Him not because He needs it but because we need it and He is worthy of our praise.

Matthew Henry said,

The way to forget our miseries, is to remember the God of mercies.

Amen.

David’s blueprint is one to follow. Let’s go to God with our pain and honest questions, then let Him lead us to HOPE and PRAISE. Keep coming back to it until David’s pattern is your pattern.

Oh and here’s a little free advice… when the person who can greatly reduce your pain asks you to rate it, be honest and tell her it’s a fifteen. Save the bravery for another day.