Feeling Numb

The soft sand under my feet, the sound and sight of ocean in front of me ... I miss the Oregon coast frequently.  However, I don’t miss the feeling of numbness my toes would acquire if I spent more than five minutes in the water.  The Oregon coast is beautiful, but the ocean is not typically one you would want to swim in; at least not without a wet suit on.  I believe that most of you reading this article could probably relate to that feeling of numbness.  Maybe it was after a dental or doctor’s appointment, maybe there was when your hands went numb from gripping your freezing cold steering wheel in the middle of winter.  My point, most people know what it feels like to be numb in one way or another.

My cousin enjoy the sand

Depot Bay, Oregon

The wonderful man that I married last October read somewhere that if you hold someone’s hand it reduces their sense of anxiety and depression and replaces it with a sense of calm.  Since then he has made a considerable effort to hold my hand more often.  One night i was having trouble sleeping and he simply touched my arm asking to hold my hand.  I happily complied and then started to calm down and drifted off to sleep.  Not before making the realization (after about 20 minutes of holding his hand), I didn’t really “feel” his hand any longer; the warmth was still there but the touch wasn’t.


Adam hadn’t stopped holding my hand, he hadn’t abandoned me; he was still there, by my side, comforting and loving me ... even while completely zonked out and happily snoring away.  That’s when I thought, “Our relationship with Christ is kind of the same way.”  We know that God is there, that He still loves us, still cares for us, still is by our side and never abandons us; the Bible makes that promise clear.  (Deuteronomy 31:6, Deuteronomy 31:8, Joshua 1:5, to name a few).  But it seems the more He’s around the more we just become “numb” to his presence.  We know all that he promises but we seem to have taken it for granted.

Feeling numb to the presence of God is a real issue and one that is easily fixed ... we simply need to say our thanks.  We need to remember to thank him for all that He does;  for all that he has provided to us.  We need to remember to count our blessings.  I strongly believe if we just stop taking God for granted and the things he does for us and instead replace it with an abundance of thanks, this will thaw our numbed hearts and instead warm up our faith.

So join me in renewing our admiration for our creator by constantly remembering all that He has done, is doing and what He has planned.