God’s Cure for Vertigo

God’s Cure for Vertigo

One of dynamics of my recovery from heart surgery has been all the collateral health issues. I experienced shortness of breath caused by fluid in my lungs. The shortness of breath resulted in a persistent cough. I experienced dizziness from one of my medications and a sinus infection. The real kicker though was vertigo. One evening when I went to bed, as soon as my head hit the pillow the whole room began to spin. I felt like I was caught up in a violent vortex and had to hang onto the head board. The good news was that it lasted less than a minute. The bad news was when I got up out of bed I experienced the vertigo again. This continued for almost five weeks and eventually led to a cracked rib when I had an attack of vertigo that caused me to fall from a ladder. Finally, an ENT doctor diagnosed my condition as BPPV - Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Interestingly, the treatment is physical therapy where the doctor put me into the positions that induced the vertigo. However, following the therapy and two days of no bending from the waist and sleeping in a recliner, I was free from the vertigo. Hallelujah!

I see a parallel between the cure of my vertigo and God’s cure of my sin-sickness. When I was lost in my sin, like all people, I struggled to control my life and my environment. I desperately tried to satisfy my core needs to be loved, accepted and to have a sense that my life mattered. As much as I wanted to be in control of my life, the reality was that I was wildly out of control as I sought to meet my needs for love, acceptance and self-worth through performance-based- acceptance.

Then I heard Jesus calling to me, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29).  Jesus said everything I was seeking was in him. All I needed to do was let go, give up control, and follow him.

The cure for my vertigo was falling into vertigo with the sure hands of the doctor holding me. The cure for my sin-sickness, which was manifested in my need to be in control, was to fall out of control, with the sure hands of my Savior holding me.

Resting in His Smile,

\O/

Alex