Hello,
A little over a week ago I joined the ranks of the
C-papper’s.
For years, I have snored with a rumble that can be heard as
far away as Australia (at least that is my wife’s conviction), apparently
accompanied by multiple episodes of breathless gasping (also according to my
wife). So, with my doctor’s
recommendation in my hand I went through a sleep study process…..which I
failed. I failed all the sleep
questions that the doctor asked of me (“Wow, you’re really sleepy!”), and I
failed the adventure of trying to sleep with 45 wires attached to my legs,
torso, arms, and head.
The solution to my failure? A C-PAP machine.
I suspect that many of you know of these devices. They are small air pressure machines
that force air into one’s nose while sleeping to keep the airway open. Having seen them on other people, I was
not looking forward to joining the C-PAP ranks. The thought of trying to sleep with a flight mask attached
to my face, tethered by a hose to a reverse vacuum machine did not seem to be the
kind of sleeping attire that I would find helpful to a restful night’s repose.
My doctor assured me otherwise, but I am sure that he knew I
didn’t believe him. The technician
who gave me my machine and instructed me on its use, likewise otherwise assured
me, and she could clearly see my unbridled skepticism. She said, “When you put the mask on,
just say to yourself, ‘I am going to have a wonderful night’s sleep.’”
Right.
So, I brought my C-PAP home and set it on the night-stand
and prepared for my maiden voyage into tethered/pressurized slumber. I have to say that the experience was
not as miserable as I had anticipated, but the hose and the mask were less than
cuddlesome. The second night was
better…the third better yet…and well….now with a week an a half under my belt,
I have to admit that my C-PAP is serving me well. No more snoring, and no more breathless gasping. Yesterday, I have to confess that I
even awoke with energy that I haven’t felt for years. It’s not that the mask and hose have become like snuggly
teddy bears to me, but I have gotten used to them. The 4-6 hours of tethered pressure is actually making my
life better.
I don’t know how many of you Bungee Cord readers are weekly
church attenders, but I hear more and more often people saying that they don’t
like to have themselves tethered to a church. They say that they don’t want the message forced upon
them. They would rather discover
it themselves. And truthfully, the
way that some churches talk and act, it does seem like attending them and being
part of them is akin to the tethered torture of a sleep study, wired from head
to toe, monitored, and judged. It
does seem like to enter them is to enter a pressure chamber where rules and
doctrines are constricting your lungs.
I hope that when people come to the church at which I am a
pastor (and I am sure that there are many others of like mind), that what they
fear is not what they encounter. I
hope that they discover, as I did with my C-PAP machine, that the breath of the
Holy Spirit that blows inside is gentle and air-passage opening. I hope that they find it to be just
enough force to unclog all the guilt, failure, pain, and fear that comes from
breathing the air of the world. I
hope that they find it just enough force to relieve them of the rumbling
snoring that agitates all those around them. I hope that they find the 1-2 hours a week of tether to the
church to actually enliven them and make their lives better.
I have decided that it is a good thing to be tethered to my
C-PAP machine when I sleep, and so I am going to commit myself to doing
so. I have personally experienced
that it is a good thing to be tethered to my church, that is why I am committed
to weekly worship. Let me invite
you to be likewise tethered. The
first, second and third times may be less productive than you might have hoped….but
soon I believe that you will find it something that you are used to…and maybe
even something that you enjoy. You
might even find Jesus to be far more closer to a snugly teddy bear than a
bothersome hose and mask. But of this
I am certain, it is not Jesus’ intent to tether you to himself and the church
(which he refers to as his body) in such a way to torment you in a lifelong
sleep study. Jesus said himself
that he came to give life…to enliven….in a far fuller way than my C-PAP
machine.
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace, (ggap)
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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