Joy to the World?

 

"Joy to the World, the Lord has come". We hear it playing on the Christian radio stations, from our phone playlists, in church, in choirs, on You Tube and in the occasional Christmas movie. But.....really?  Do people experience true joy this time of year?? 

Joy was my Word of the 2022 Year.  Little did I know I would be experiencing some rather different circumstances this year in my physical body. 

Joy?  Did I experience joy this year?  I certainly didn't write nearly the amount of blog devotional posts I was planning on last January about joy.  Come April, I had  headache pain in the sinuses every.single.day. Two different doctors said "sinusitis" (although I didn't have the typical symptoms for that).  The ENT said allergies although I had to practically beg for a sinus scan and allergy testing and then it didn't happen until 2 and then 4 months later.  Ridiculous. And it wasn't due to nursing shortages where I go.  They had plenty of people. They didn't want to listen to me when I kept reporting I didn't have typical allergy symptoms.  I tried 5 different over the counter allergy meds.  No differences.  I tried 3 different kinds of nasal sprays then 2 different kinds of prescription nasal sprays. No different. I was put on 4....yes you read that correctly....four different  antibiotics. No different.

Joy to the world? Well, not in my world. I was becoming frustrated, scared about what this could be (Sinus scan showed everything looked clear including brain area....then why the pain?? and NO pain reliever was helping....  I do have a partial deviated septum but that doesn't cause daily headaches). 

Not only was I becoming frustrated with the medical people, I was becoming frustrated with myself because I still had to function as a teacher, as a wife, mom to 2 young adults who still wanted to do things with me (and one was already one her own and the other one was moving out come early autumn.)... and function as a small group leader.  Plus we had 3 different vacations planned. I wasn't "feeling the joy". But....in actuality I was  getting joy mixed up with happiness. I was definitely unhappy.  I kept praying, crying out to the Lord, crying at night, reading the Scriptures. And yet the pain continued all  summer long.  I learned to just deal with it. 

Autumn arrived and daily headaches continued. I'd wake up fine but within a couple of hours I was in pain. So. I called my new primary doctor.  She had me come in, listened to the recent months' history and list of meds and said "Chronic sinusitis with mistreated allergies. Go off everything and only take what I prescribe for one month". She prescribed the antibiotic I had last March (which does work for actual sinusitis and did work last March) plus two new prescription allergy meds: one for morning and one for bedtime.  No change although some of the sinus pressure lifted. (this particular antibiotic can decrease inflammation).  So......Thanksgiving was approaching.  I was really becoming discouraged despite friends, family and even bloggers I communicate with telling me they're praying for me. 

Meanwhile, God was doing a work in my heart.  Joy, you see, comes from trusting God.  Happiness is vastly different. Happiness is dependant on our circumstances, but the joy that comes from God...that comes from the well spring in our heart bubbling up and over. All of a sudden, every devotional I started reading, every email from certain Christian friends, had Scriptures about joy and over and over I was running into the Scripture of the Year I chose.  It's even on the side bar of this blog!

As I began to really seek God's face...really spend time in His presence this autumn, I began to experience that joy! Was I still unhappy about my head pain? yes......and then one afternoon, while reading about neck arthritis (because I have that as well!), an article popped up from a physiotherapist site in Australia!  This particular article was explaining about 3 different kinds of headaches that people with neck issues/upper back issues have (almost all of our aches and pains stem from our spine...did you know that??!).  And I have 2 bulging discs although they are in remission right now, I have arthritis in the lower spine, right hip and neck, and I have upper back issues from years of hiking up and down mountains and lifting many small children daily for years. My former doctor also thinks the lyme disease I had in 2001-2003 played a role in some of these joint/arthritis issues as well.  (which a lyme disease specialist confirmed).  

Well...."God led me to this article", I thought.  "I might as well finish reading it". And guess what the third kind of headache is?

You got it.  SINUS PAIN.  There was a diagram showing where many people present with pain and mine matched it!  Basically, the head and face pain make you feel like you have a sinus infection when in actuality it is referred pain coming from your neck/spine!! 

I presented the print out to my chiropractor and she began treatment of my neck and upper back (which I had had on and off all last spring and summer anyways but we never made the connection based on what the ENT was saying!). 

As of this writing, I have been mostly pain free for the entire week and I have only had 3 chiropractic visits since Thanksgiving.  I have 2 more next week and probably twice a week for the rest of December.  After that, I will be going once a week for awhile.  

Joy to the World!  I think I finally have answers.  I've been thanking God daily for the pain free days.  Yes I am still getting headaches on and off but with working the exercises she gave me, and with her adjusting my neck, doing neck massage and rapid release and stretching my neck muscles like she does, my chiropractor thinks I am on the right path. 

As I put more and more trust in God again, to continue to show me the path He wants me to walk, I experience more and more joy. And with that joy comes peace.  The kind of peace that passes all of our understanding.  

Do I still get fearful  at times?  Yes. But I'm kicking back at the enemy of fear and filling my heart and mind with healing Scriptures. My prayer partner friends are still praying for complete healing.  Arthritis never is healed.  Once you have it, you can slow the progression.  That's the goal. But honestly if God wanted to perform a miracle and heal my neck of arthritis, He could.  I totally believe in the miraculous power of healing.  However, I am also a realist and I've never seen God move in that way.  The miracle for me, is that He led me to that article.  And that I'm seeing results after each chiropractic visit. Through all of this, my heart is full of joy for the season to come......and for Christmas. God's strength is getting me through each day. 

I read this quote somewhere and it rings  true:

"In happy or sad times, in comfort or difficulty, we find joy in the presence of the Lord. Focusing on Christ—who he is, what he’s done to save us, and his promise to keep us—brings a supernatural joy that can’t compare with temporary happiness. "

Joy to the World........the world is looking for joy when what they actually talk about is happiness.  They will know joy....the unbelievers....when they put their trust and lives in Jesus, the Savior of our world. He has come that we may all experience His joy! No matter our circumstances.