"Shin Splints"

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. (1 Corinthians 12:12-18 NIV).

After extensive tests to make sure that I didn’t have a stress fracture or a blood clot in my right leg, the doctors have agreed with my diagnosis. I have shin splints. I won’t spend the time here talking about the cost of the tests to “make sure” I didn’t have a life threatening issue, however I am reminded of the truth in our reading today: when one part of the body, no matter how seemingly insignificant, doesn’t work as it should, it affects the entire body!

According to Wikipedia shin splints is a general medical term denoting medial tibial stress syndrome, a slow healing and painful condition in the shins, often caused by the stresses of running, jumping, dancing, and sprinting. A possible contributing cause of shin muscle pain is the relative weakness of the muscles on the front of the lower leg (the shin), compared to the relative strength of the calf muscles, at the back of the leg (the calf). Shin-muscle strengthening exercises usually are prescribed to balance the muscle-strength imbalance. The shin pain caused by medial tibial stress syndrome (shin splints) usually lasts some ten days, the pain slowly diminishing as the muscle-strength imbalance is corrected. The shin pain is attributed to a forced extension of the muscle, by the opposing calf muscles.

Now, I have not been running (probably should have been), nor have I been marching (that was way too long ago)! However, my part time job puts me on concrete floors and doing a lot of walking. That, plus bad shoes, initiated the condition. Wikipedia is right about one thing, it is painful. And, I have a very high threshold for pain! That one little ribbon of muscle hurts the entire right side of my lower torso! What in the world! Well, here’s the truth that needs to be imprinted firmly in our hearts… all of us have a very important role in the body of Christ. When one part doesn’t work right, all of the body is affected. I’m convinced that when the “part” doesn’t work right, it is not due to disobedience. Usually it happens because of ignorance or the experience of a past hurt or failure. So, here’s the solution. Let God heal your heart and enlighten your mind. Discover your gifts and use them. Discover His grace and apply it in your life! Spiritual shin splints aren’t good for anyone!