Trigger Point Therapy
Laying on the massage table, I did my best to breath deeply and not flinch from the pain. I’d gotten massages before, but none of them were trigger point massage therapy. Goodbye relaxing spa massage.
I kept telling myself the pain was worth the results I was going to get. After all, I’d done trigger point therapy myself with positive results. I knew that a professional would yield even better results. Plus, I was just tired of the chronic pain and felt this was a good bet for ultimately getting rid of at least some of it.
Five minutes into the massage, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 came to mind. I had studied about the body of Christ before and about how each part is connected to and dependent upon the others. I understood that each part has its own job to do in order for the body as a whole to function optimally.
As I lay there on the massage table, though, enduring the pain of one trigger point after another being told it is not welcome, I suddenly realized that there is so much more than connection of the parts of the body. They aren’t just connected; they are interconnected.
Connected vs. Interconnected.
To be connected means to be united, joined, or linked. It’s being joined together in sequence and linked coherently. Interconnection involves being connected, obviously, but it also means being interrelated. Interconnection means intertwined, which gives the sense of connection at multiple points or levels.
The massage therapist would work a trigger point in my shoulder, and I felt the affects all the way down my arm. Why? Because my shoulder and arm are interconnected. She worked the knots in my hips and glutes, and the muscles down my legs and into my feet expressed their gratitude. That’s interconnection.
Body of Christ
As I reflected on this scripture after my painful though productive massage, I realized the shallowness of my thinking about the body of Christ up to that point. Just like with my physical body, when one area experiences tension, other areas feel tension and even pain too. Likewise, when one area finds healing, the others are the better for it as well.
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 12:25-26)
The body of Christ is not just different parts connected to one another; the parts are interconnected. As such, we must always remember that:
- We are intimately interconnected to one another.
- Our connection is continual.
- Every connection must be valued and nurtured.
We must keep the interconnection of the body of Christ in mind if the body – and its individual parts – are to be as healthy and productive as possible. We must value and nurture interconnection by pursuing it and by allowing it to happen. We cannot operate in isolation and expect the body to be healthy.
Reflection
How can you pursue and allow for healthier interconnection with the body of Christ?
