When I was in Seattle, my mom took me to a spa for the 1st time. I'd never really had interest in going to a spa before and honestly... I was a little uncomfortable being there. Let's face it - when people ask how I spent my afternoon I'd rather say I played some football or went skydiving or went to a band rehersal - going to a spa scores a 0.2 out of 100 on the 'manly things to do' scale. Never-the-less, since my mom already booked me a time slot, I was in.
Massage Pride
The first thing she'd signed me up for was a full body massage. The lady giving me the massage was very nice at explaining that sometimes the pressure she applies is too much for her clients and that I should tell her if it starts to hurt and she'll back down. Inside I smiled, surely this little lady can't push that hard. It wasn't but 15 min into the massage that I became the victim of an acurately placed elbow dropped right onto a pressure point in my upper back. Yes it hurt, it hurt like mad crazy. Call me a sucker for punishment or just call me proud but after spending a couple of afternoons getting pummeled by Kurt (former US National Team w/ Martial Arts) during a grappling lesson I wasn't about to tap out for this gal. So I gritted my teeth and took the punishment for an entire hour finally thanking her through clenched jaw and pridefully limping out the room. God has been working on my pride since I've ever been involved with intervarsity and though I'm getting better - I still have a "I can do anything" kind of attitude toward work which isn't always realistic =).
Facial Evangelism
My final experience at the spa was getting a facial. Yea, that's right I said facial - what of it? =0 I ended up having a great conversation with Erika (the woman giving me the facial) about her wanting to know more of who God is and desiring 'a spiritual component to [her] life'. So in the end the facial was very refreshing - more so because I felt renewed as I listened to her explain her experience at the Church she's going to and what she's thinking about God right now. I couldn't help but think of a young lady named Allison at SLU who's thinking many of the same things as Erika at this point in time. Please keep both of them in your prayers as I feel they are both eagerly peeking over the fence at Christianity.
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2 comments:
mwahaha. now you know why I always fought james and mike w/ my elbow. didn't it feel great afterwards though? I had a similar experience in shanghai, where I didn't speak up during the massage primarily out of fear and the inability to communicate...
-CJ
i had a similar experience with foot massage. just like you, my mom signed me up as well. at first, i thought it was no big deal but within two min. i was in cold sweat and ALMOST in tears. i just wouldn't surrender...ya i see where pride can hurt you. i thought massage is suppose to be a relaxing experience but it was almost like an endurance challenge =)
-J.Y.
P.S. foot massage was effective.
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