Author: S. Gordon-Jeffery
Christian Testimonies
"It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for He gives his beloved sleep." Psalm 127:2 NKJV
I have always been fond of staying up late: flipping through TV channels, reading a book, and for the past three years watching videos on Youtube. It's been something I do to unwind before I go to bed.
It never bothered me that I wasn't getting enough sleep because my thought was I could make it up on Sundays after church. I never realised however, that as you get older, those bad habits take a toll.
I have been struggling with an illness for a little while now. I have been to several doctors trying be rid of it but usually I get some relief but no cure. At one point it felt like the medication made things worse! So after deciding to do my own research I said I would try something new.
So right now I have tweaked my diet somewhat, that has helped a little, and I am trying natural remedies in moderation and watching to see what will happen.
One thing that has been a recurring issue is some pain I am experiencing. No. I don't like to exercise, but I do it anyway. But when it seemed the pain got worse after I exercised, I sort of gave up.
One day I was in a lot pain, I couldn't move. Usually when it's that bad I need a little assistance moving around. So believing in the creator of the universe (Christian right here), I cried out to him and asked him to help me.
He instructed me to do some stretching exercises and after about 15 minutes of doing that I felt better. You can't imagine my excitement to realise that doing some simple moves provided instant relief!
I decided that I wanted to see if there was something I could do to add to my new exercise routine. Yup I did, and for awhile it was fabulous! But... I didn't know there would be side effects.
I stumbled on yoga, an ancient meditation exercise that I pretty much hoped could solve my pain problem.
Desperate much.
I didn't attend classes because I had no interest in the meditation or any spiritual awakening they supposedly offer. I just wanted relief for the pain. So I read a few blogs and studied the poses by carefully looking at the pictures I found online. Wrong move I guess, but I was like what harm could this do. I just need the pain to go away, and it did.
For awhile I would do it everyday but when I felt things were good with me I stopped. I wasn't comfortable with doing the poses because each apparently has a meaning, so as soon as I felt better I stopped. I would only do them if I had a 'pain episode'.
Sometime ago, I woke up one morning in pain. I prayed about it. Got up, used the bathroom and laid back down. I said to myself, "I'm going to have to do that thing today...sigh".
I did it and by the end I was beginning to feel better. By the time I had breakfast the pain was gone. The problem was I could feel my heart beating very fast. It wasn't the first time I felt it. I felt it before and had difficulty sleeping in the night but eventually nodded off.
I figured this was probably the same experience but maybe less severe since I didn't feel as nervous (I had this nervous energy) as I did that time before. Well... I was wrong. It was much much worse.
I couldn't sleep! That night after the exercise, I couldn't fall asleep. The problem with me is that my body is familiar with missing a day or two of sleep. It doesn't happen often thankfully, but it does happen to me.
Well now, there I was annoyed with myself for not being able to sleep. I got up and started to pray and read my bible. Sometimes when I can't sleep, the Lord has something he wants me to know, so I figured that could have been it. I prayed and read a few verses, also thinking about the first time after yoga I couldn't sleep.
At that time I went into a chat room and read other people's experiences. It made me know that it does cause insomnia for whatever reason, so I was relieved I wasn't the only one, but annoyed that it was happening to me, especially since my initial experience was pleasant.
Long story short I got no sleep for one full day. I dozed for maybe an hour the second day, and then got some shut eye close to day break the third day of insomnia. Trust me when I tell you I prayed and prayed and prayed. My family prayed with me. My husband and mom prayed fervently with me.
I can honestly say that the experience though scary taught me about God's mercy and goodness. And I got a lot of things off my chest, things that were lurking in the subconscious. Thank God! I give Him the praise, I am better now.
At first, I marvelled that I could still function the next day without sleep. But as day one became day two to day three: it was not funny. By day three a severe migraine headache kicked in! And I knew I was tired but had difficulty sleeping. But God is an awesome God! Very compassionate! This experience has taught me so much about Him and I am grateful that He cares about my health, my well-being and that I get my beauty rest. I will never take sleep for granted again!
Uh...yoga? Wah name suh? Never again! Mi wi bear di pain until the Lord removes it from me.
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