Apr
15
2019
Wrist Pain
Posted in Holy Week 2 Comments
I am typing with a wrist stabilizer on my left hand.
It was bound to happen.
No one, who is as left handed as me, could go unscathed.
It is from repetitive use and being unable to do things with my right hand with any precision.
Think about what you do on any given day.
Children begin to prefer one hand over another by 2 or 3 years of age.
Firmly established by age 5, we go through life with that hand as our dominant hand.
Some people are ambidextrous; some, like me, are inept with their weaker hand.
I love to cook.
Pairing, slicing, and chopping are all done with my left hand.
I love to write; the pen is always in my left hand.
When I type, even though I use both hands, my left hand never gets a rest.
I go to a wonderful chiropractor for my back.
When I asked him about my wrist, he had me put my thumb against my palm.
He wanted me to gently close my other fingers around my thumb and turn my hand down.
The pain was in a specific place as I did that motion.
De Quervain’s syndrome, he told me.
I researched it later and learned more about it.
Do you know the occupational hazard for this injury? He asked me with a smile.
Becoming a grandparent, he said still smiling.
Most of his patients, with this problem, have become grandparents in the previous year.
The injury happens as you extend your thumb in order to lift your precious grandchild.
When I researched it, there were other causes.
I did a mental check list as I read them.
Testing thumb: NO! (I text with my index finger)
Gaming thumb: NO! (I have never played a video game)
I did not read that becoming a grandmother is an occupational hazard.
That motion of picking up a child was not listed as a possible cause of this injury.
I am sure that it is a combination of things.
Even if becoming a grandmother contributed to this injury, I will take it.
My wrist stabilizer will be part of my wardrobe for the next few weeks.
My husband tells me to rest my wrist; that is easier said than done.
Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs have surrounded me, a band of evil men has encircled me; they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. (Psalm 22:12-17)
Depictions of Jesus on the cross always show the nails going through His hands.
Nailing His hands through the palms would not have held Jesus’ weight.
The Roman soldiers would have hammered the nails through Jesus’ wrists.
Having this wrist injury, I cannot imagine the pain that Jesus must have felt.
In the Bible, the Greek word that is used for hands is cheir.
That same Greek word is also used when we read the apostle, Paul, had chains on his wrists.
The nails could have been driven straight through Jesus’ hands near the base of the thumb.
That is approximately where this injury is in my wrist and it is painful.
Jesus had five wounds: His hands, His feet, and His side.
The exact location on His hands and His feet should not be a matter of debate.
What is important is that the wounds were there.
What is important is that, by His wounds, we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24)
It is interesting to have this injury in my own wrist during Holy Week.
It is a small reminder of the great pain the Lord Jesus went through on the cross.
It is a reminder of the pain the Lord Jesus went through on our behalf.
Jesus bore the wrath of God on the cross so we would not have to bear it.
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Lord Jesus, as my wrist heals in these next few weeks, let it remind me of Your suffering on the cross. I cannot imagine the pain You must have felt as nails were driven through Your wrists. I cannot imagine the searing pain as Your pierced wrists held your weight. When my wrist hurts, let me remember You. Thank You, Lord Jesus.
When my grandson Joshua was little, he and his parents lived with me for his first 1 1/2 years. . I remember needing a brace for my lower arm because of holding him and over-extending my arm and wrist muscles. I, too, often think that our pain, no matter how bad, can’t compare to what Jesus felt because He felt not only physical pain, but the pain of being separated from His Father and taking on all our sins. Thank You, Lord Jesus.
Amen, Sue!