I recently came down with a cold and was all at once stricken with the burden we never fully appreciate not having until it’s too late: congestion.
How often do you take a deep breath in, mindfully thankful that you can breathe clearly out of both nostrils? How often do you give thanks that your ears aren’t clogged?
I know I don’t do it enough.
So when I find myself congested, I immediately start counting down the minutes until my head no longer feels like it’s swelled three times its size, and I can get that intensely satisfying final pop of my ears, making me feel normal again.
Am I the only one that loves a good ear pop?
I mean, I hate when my ears have to pop, I hate when a change in elevation makes me feel like my ears are going to explode, but I live for the actual pop. It is so satisfying, so life giving. I almost always sigh and say, “thank you!” To my ears, to God, to DayQuil, whomever. Thank you for that relief.
The hard part is, I only know that feeling of relief—I only realize what a blessing it is, because I’ve known the congestion.
Do you see where I’m going with this? Because yes, I’m turning head congestion into a metaphor. Sue me!
There are going to be times of struggle, times of tension and pressure and hardship, and they are not always easy to walk through. But the blessings that come after those times feel like blessings because we’ve known the struggle. If we never knew struggle, we’d never truly know blessing.
So be patient, trust that God will see you through. Have faith that any hardship can be worked together for good (Romans 8:28).
Fear not: God will pop your ears, (figuratively speaking) (or literally, who knows) and you will understand the magnitude of that blessing because of what you walked through previously. You might even get better at taking that full breath in more often, thankful for what you have, even if it’s just a head free of congestion.
Let’s all take that breath together now.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Thank you.