bodily bumps from blades of truth

I helped mow someone's lawn today. They're moving and so it was a quick way to help them out (and they're paying me, which is always nice, too).

Anyway... I have these really bad shoes that I wear when I cut the lawn. They have a green ring around the bottom because grass bleeds when you mow (or something freaky like that), and so your shoes tend to collect this stuff. In any event, these aren't the best shoes in the world since I've had them awhile and they slant like my feet do. (I'll talk about that at a later time.)

So this yard is gargantuan... like, two Brady Bunch yards put together or something. Except instead of astro turf it's real grass... thick stuff... and there are a lot of turns and funky places to mow. All of that to say that my feet got a good workout.

Since then (about 4 hours ago), I have been noting a sharp pain on my left foot's ring toe. (Which - why is it called a ring toe? I don't live in Soho or L.A. and wear odd things on my feet for recreation... anyway... now you know the toe). I've checked on it and it looks to become a nice callous in the next day or so.

What has been amazing to me, though, is how much I feel worn down by it. Maybe I'm a wimp or something, but here's my theory...

• My toe hurts, which in turn makes my foot throb.
• My foot is throbbing, which makes my left leg work a bit more.
• My left leg is working a bit more, which creates a slight limp for my whole body when I walk.
• My whole body has a slight limp, which means I'm getting tired faster than I normally would.

Okay... maybe that's all simple cause and effect stuff. But it just amazes me how one little part of my foot can send such weariness to my whole body.

Wait... that sounds familiar...

The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
(1 Corinthians 12:21-26)

So let's see if this is true or not spiritually speaking."Sid" - a Christian - feels hurt and left out of a circle of friends (also Christians). Since the Church is people + God, one might argue that he feels left out of a portion of the Church. Now, other parts of the Church may not feel this, but nonetheless there is a sharp pain in a very small part of the Body. This will lead to some throbbing, as well as some extra energy and work expended relationally. Next is a limp, and soon the whole Body is affected.

Does the Church work this way? Is it possible for so many people to be hurting and for us to not feel it? Or would you say that we feel it and just go on limping anyway?

Dear Jesus -

Thanks for taking care of the parts that often go neglected. Help me to follow in Your footsteps... no pun intended.
- T.