Valerie is a 42-year-old, single, Reformed Christian lady who lives in Baltimore. She doesn't remember a time
before she knew and loved Jesus, but she does remember accepting John Calvin into her heart in March of 2000.
Valerie is a member of Christ Reformed Evangelical Church in Annapolis.
Though her career aspiration is to be a housewife, Valerie has not yet found anyone suitable who wishes to hire
her for employment in that field (or, more properly, anyone suitable has not found her), so in the meantime she
earns her daily bread working in communications -- editing, writing, print design and website management.
In Repentance and Rest...in Quietness and Confidence
Temptation is sometimes like a charley horse -- one of those intense leg muscle spasms that wakes you up in the middle of the night. An anatomy prof once explained that the muscle is confused, and is trying to expand and contract at the same time. When it happens, your initial reaction is to clench up, and the popular online advice is to massage the muscle, but I can assure you from 25 years' experience with the problem that the most effective way to get rid of the pain is to do absolutely nothing -- just relax and let your leg go as limp as possible. The pain subsides in a few seconds, and there's generally no further problem in the morning, whereas when I used to fight the things more vigorously, I would generally still be achy the next day.
When temptation strikes, we (OK, I, at least!) often panic: "Oh no! It's the Big Bad Wolf!! It's going to get me!!! Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!" But I'm finding more and more that in many situations, the best response is to relax and let my spirit go as limp as possible. The more I learn to do this, the more quickly many temptations subside. The idea is to take me out of the equation, and to rest solely in Christ's power. We are not called to fear temptation, but to fear God, and that means not panicking as if sin is bigger than His power. Our strength, however, is unequal to the task, so flailing about in our own power just makes the situation worse...like a drowning man whose panic hinders his rescue.
One of my favorite lines in my new Wes King CD is "Be at peace, but never run from the battle/For the battle is where peace is found." Passivity toward God is the most effective activity against sin. Rest is resistance.
Posted by Valerie (Kyriosity) at 10:33 AM
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6 comments
6 Comments:
On July 3, 2007 2:13 PMpentamomwrote... Completely subverting the wonderful spiritual application of your post:
the cure is to grab your toes and slowly and steadily bend your foot back toward your body (and hold) until the spasm releases. Works Every. Single. Time. It usually takes only a few seconds and leaves no achiness.
I suppose this works because it forces the muscle to concentrate on bending in one single direction, without requiring the confused muscle to do it "on its own" so to speak, but as an inescapable effect of bending the ankle backward. The muscle "power" is in your arm, but the effect is on your calf muscle.
On July 3, 2007 2:59 PMpentamomwrote... BTW, it's making me slightly nuts (a very small effort) that your blog isn't showing the number of comments posted.
I fixed the comment thing...it was bugging me, too.
On July 3, 2007 11:47 PMThe BadgerMumwrote... Flex, as opposed to point. If you were standing, you'd be pulling your toes towards the ceiling, but since you're probably sitting with your leg extended out in front of you, you'll be pulling your toes towards your body.
Does that help?
I wish I could remember what my daddy used to take for it. There's a very simple home remedy that works almost instantly. The muscle confusion is a chemical problem...
Dang. Wish I could ask him. Daddy used to get them regularly, but I've only had one ever, thanks be to God!
On July 4, 2007 7:50 AMdawnwrote... eat your bananas ... their potassium is supposed to prevent them. Maybe that's what you're thinking, Kelly?
Otherwise, excellent advice on fighting temptation, Valerie.
On July 4, 2007 9:55 AMThe BadgerMumwrote... No, I've remembered - it was quinine. There used to be an OTC remedy called Q-Leg, or something like that, that you might look into for when you need immediate relief.
But for prevention, Dawn's right about potassium. Since you seem to have a bad deficiency, in addition to eating bananas, I'd recommend switching to using Celtic sea salt if at all possible, or Morton's Lite Salt if not, in all your food.
