recovery

Recovery is my word of the day as Bill continues to recover from umbilical hernia surgery.
When I think of recovery I think of several situations; time after surgery or illness; a screw or tool that gets dropped; someone who gets caught in an avalanche or plane crash and needs help; or an athlete that looses their footing.

I found the following definitions interesting.
a.) the regaining of or possibility of regaining something lost or taken away.
b.) return to health from sickness.
c.) restoration to any former and better state or condition.
d.) time required for recovering.

a.regaining- I had it, I lost it, I want it back and am willing to work toward that end.

b.return- went away from, going back to. Before Bill's surgery he was able to get up and down without any help. Since his surgery he has needed some help, but he is determined to work toward being able to do it himself- he even found a way to get up off of the couch by himself when he is laying down. He simply rolls himself onto the floor and then is able to use his arms and legs to pull himself up.Ingenious!

c.restoration-making "good as new"- this makes me think of my dad- he enjoyed working toward the restoration of old vehicles.

d. time required- all of these things these things take time!

To regain something, you had to a)own it to begin with and b)recognize that it is gone.

To return you have to know where you started from and be willing to work at getting back. Sometimes you have to try new methods:)

Restoration involves seeing it as it was designed to be. It requires dreaming and working toward what you may not have seen, but know is supposed to be.

Time- that is the one thing that is key to all recovery.

Injury
Illness
Grief
Addictions
Depression
All of these (and more) affect our health.
All of these, if recovery is the goal, require us to acknowledge there is a problem and steps need to be taken to allow recovery. Recovery involves a commitment- of time, energy, resources. Frequently it involves allowing someone with expertise to get involved. Danger and pain are often involved.

Christianity involves recovery:
Regaining a relationship with God that was taken away by our sin.
Returning to a healthy view of what life is intended to be.
Restoration- God is able to restore us- to make us what we were designed to be.
Time-
Christianity is a lifestyle-
a process that never ends-
we start out as babies (regardless of our chronological age)
and grow to maturity.

Recovery?
The choice is ours.