I was meeting with one of the guys on my staff recently and he mentioned something about playing percussion. This confused me because last semester he was suffering from such severe back pain that he had to give up practicing and playing the marimba. I asked if he had gotten medication over the break that enabled him to better manage the pain. No, he hadn’t gotten any medication; he had just been able to see (in person) the results of a previously given MRI scan.
He had gotten he scan while on a trip home during first semester 
but he had not been able to talk to the doctor about the results. His mom had explained it to him as best as she could over the
phone. He had also been told to do some physical therapy exercises but hadn’t kept up on them. The scan showed him what was happening to his back in a way that a conversation over the phone could never do. The conversation directly with the doctor convinced him more than a second-hand explanation ever could. The bottom line is: Your back is going to continue to give you pain and deteriorate to the point that you will need surgery unless you do these stretches daily.
So he’s doing the stretches.
And his back pain has virtually disappeared.
Even as he was talking, I couldn’t help but draw a connection in my mind:
What if we could see the “MRI scan” results for our souls up close and in person? What if we could hear from the “doctor’s mouth” what the long term results of our actions were?
Obviously, the bible and godly mentors are echoes of this but I think they correlate to the phone call from mom, more than the conversation with the doctor.
What if we could actually see the damage we are doing to our souls by not “stretching” each day.
What if we could sit down and look at a picture of our souls, hear the explanation of each decision we make, know the trajectory of our actions?
Would you stop reading celebrity magazines if you knew what it would do to your self-worth?
Would you stop playing those games on Facebook if you knew the effect they’d have on your ability to concentrate?
Would you read your Bible regularly if you knew the character you’d cultivate?
Would you pay more attention to those around you if you knew you’d become a more loving person by doing so?
Would you stretch everyday if you knew that if you didn’t you’d have to have surgery?
4 Responses to MRI? …MRme.
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Growing up, Kyle Strobel knew all the "right" answers. The Christianity he experienced in the church was reduced to theological precepts and moral codes. He tried typical spiritual growth formulas but faith remained stagnant, even stale. Sound familiar?
In Journey with Jesus, spiritual director Larry Warner guides us through the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius similarly to the way he's been leading people through them in person.
Interesting. I have always remember a sermon that was given to me about always “updating” ourselves in our Christian faith. Every time when we get on our computers we sometimes see that “New updates are now available, would you like to update now?” Most of the time we ignore till a later time. However, how ofter do we miss opportunities to update ourselves to be with God and ignore it till a later time.
You mentioning the concept of “stretching” everyday reminded me of that. You also mentioned that its hard sometimes to hear the doctor to tell us “the news.” Sometimes I ponder, why is it so hard for us to hear the news. We need mentors and people in our lives to confront us. But why is it hard for us to hear the news? We know we ignore stretching, we know we aren’t updating…so why dont we want to hear it?
1. Pretty sure that sermon was from Michael Moffitt on the Bowman House retreat.
2. I think if we could audibly hear God tell talk to us and tell us that if we didn’t “update” we’d get a “virus” then we’d be more likely to do it….
Why do we ignore things until they’re right in front of our faces?
…Dr. Bressler called it “the tyranny of the urgent”
we are eternal beings, but we are trapped in the NOW and we tend to only listen to the NOW….
Calvin said that the Psalms were an “anatomy of the soul.” Not a bad start if I do say so.
I am new to this blog, and I love this post. I think one of the most difficult parts of the spiritual life is that it is so abstract. We often don’t see the consequences of our action (or inaction) until it is too late.
This, to me, emphasizes the importance of prayer in the Christian life. Not just speaking, but listening. Taking intentional time to pause and interact with the Creator. Seeking eyes that are open to His presence with us all the time, a will that is open to His direction and correction, and a heart that is open to His compassion for those around us.