MEET Mick

I'm Flying to South East Asia, & Boy Are My Arms Tired...

I got my first set of shots on Thursday and let me tell you, there are few things that leave you as sore in the shoulders as a typhoid injection.

Sitting and bearing the agony of injections is one way of me "taking one for the team" already. What do I mean? Well to be honest, the pain is not that bad. (unless of course you go home, like I did and get repeatedly socked in the arm on the injection site by a family member --thanks Grammy!) It's a little pin-prick; not even as bad as when I give blood. But there is something psychological about it for me. I see even that tiny little needle knowing it's for a shot and I get panicky. I get dry mouth and the room starts spinning...I immediately want to run and find the nearest exit. I can't explain it. It's like I'm a kid again and I'm dreading the anticipation of something awful; something painful; something that will surely kill me.

The good news is that though I got tense with anxiety before my shots this week, I was able to take it like like a man. I got through them without much whining and even smiled at the nurse, who looked like she wanted to be anywhere else besides the Pasadena Public Health Center that day.

You know, it's the little things that add up to spiritual growth. I am a firm believer that one will play out what one rehearses. This means that if I want to be strong in an area, I have to rehearse strength in that area. So, if I can take my shots without complaint; if I can stand trough my nerves and psychological mind games, then the next time I have to face it, it won't be as bad. If I can look at that minor action as "suffering for the Gospel," then when I really have to "suffer for the Gospel" I will be that much more ready to do so.

I'm not trying to over spiritualize here, I know full well that taking a few shots in the arm to keep myself healthy is nowhere near suffering. I just mean that if I can see unpleasant circumstances or inconveniences or pain in a new light and not try to run from them, I will be better ready to stand in the midst of bigger, more real trials where the stakes are higher. And that is something worth cultivating indeed.

-Mick