Getting Good at Being Sick

One of the things that I have noticed about being sick is how consuming it can be.  When your body is a raging mess it is easy to get obsessed with how you feel.  It is easy to go inside and hang out with mess.   It is also so true that we are not gnostic and able to separate the body from the soul.  When the body suffers, the soul is effected.  But I would say that this is where we engage a fight rather then let our souls slip into the goo that our body is oozing.  What i mean by this, is that in the storm of upset health we engage in active combat to keep our souls facing outward and heavenward. It is super easy to turn our gaze and our ears on the thing that is shouting the loudest and jumping up and down for attention.  In this context i am speaking of health issues.  When bad health sets in it is super easy to turn inward and hang out with the mess.  But even in this we are called to seek first the kingdom.  Even in these times we are promised that our needs will be taken care of.  The practical side to this is, bad health slows you down.  This is where it is super tempting to join the Gnostic.   Lets just ignore that I feel super horrid.  Lets pretend that mind over matter is more spiritual then being where I am..... being sick to the glory of God.  Being good at being sick is a good work.  Learning to trust in the Lord in all things, is the point.  When we are sick, we glorify God.  We do not pretend it away and we do not let it consume us.  We are called to fight as Christians   Some of us fight with ailments.  We learn to get really good with our handicap.  We learn that we are in a body and that we are  not fighting on our own.  And we learn that the real enemy is in our hearts, in the world and is the cunning serpent of old.  We fight the real enemies.  And yes, bad health is a real enemy.  It is apart of the dying man that Jesus had victory over.  We remember that Christ has had the victory.  He tasted this victory after death.  Our pattern is no different.  Bad health is a type of death.  If it is a christian death then you should see Resurrection life springing from your dying body.  Your family should be blessed by it.  Trials are promised.  They are guaranteed.  Health trials are from the Lord and for our good.