Today I want to share a struggle I am having because it relates to high sensitivity. I mention in The Mystery Of Spiritual Sensitivity (p. 26) that sensitivity is an across the board thing and has nothing to do with worth, value or status in the Lord's eyes. We are highly sensitive spiritually because we are highly sensitive--our central nervous system takes in more sensory data than those who are not so sensitive, period. If you are highly sensitive spiritually, you will probably be highly sensitive emotionally and/or physically. And, God made us this way for a purpose. Our job is to determine what that purpose is and cooperate with Him in it.
My struggle right now is a physical sensitivity and I am just flat out not used to that! My body has just been there for me and I have not needed to give it any special consideration or care. Sometime this summer my sinus started to run...down my throat, and caused a horrible barking cough. I sound like someone's racoon hunting hound barking "treed!" I live in a basement apartment and my elderly mom upstairs can hear me "barking" all the way upstairs!
We have tried everything we can think of! We found a hunk of mouldy carpet pad, got rid of that and treated the carpet. The cough improved but persisted. Then we had the ducts cleaned to get any errant mould spores. Again, the cough improved but persisted. A friend owns an ionizer so we borrowed that. We took out the plants and grandma for the day--ozone will kill anything biological! Again there was an improvement but the random postnasal dump persists. Environmentally I think we have done what we can do. Now I have to start eliminating stuff from my diet one by one and see if there is something I am eating that I am sensitive to! When I find the offending item I will then pursue God for the spiritual signifigance of that item. What a pain! (I am beginning to suspect sugar. Ugh. Just try to eliminate that!)
As I go through this process of elimination I am attempting to look for God's perspective, to see it through His eyes rather than rail about the inconvenience. What can God teach me through this process? I am convinced that the lesson is important or He would not allow the trouble! One benefit is strengthening of persevernence. The Lord has crafted a situation where I will persevere...or spend my days coughing my head off! I would rather have bulging muscles of perseverence than spend my days coughing. Living with the cough is certainly making me more compassionate toward those who struggle with environmental pollutants of all sorts! Increased compassion is another benefit, sigh.
I share this to remind some of you of the sensitivies you are already aware of but may have let your vigilence slide. It is easy to brush them aside because of the inconvenience of a rigid regimin. I also share to alert some that we are vulnerable to be so distracted by the spiritual aspects of our lives that we forget about the physical and the need for balance. I share to remind us all that sensitivity is sensitivity--it all goes back to the neural hardware. Finely tuned nerves = sensitivity in many different areas. When there sensitivity in one area, it points to other areas as well.
If any of you would like to share how sensitivity impacts your life I think it would help us all! I'd appreciate your leaving a comment.
Blessings, Carol
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