What I'm Learning from My Shingles

Sooooooooo...I have shingles.

For those of you who don't know what that is, click here.

So I've been trying to think of a metaphor that I could blog about from this.

The first thing I thought of was that your past catches up with you. Shingles are essentially Chicken Pox that flares up again after a few dormant decades just to torment you once again. I thought about how often things from our past that we thought had been dead for years can suddenly reappear and still cause us damage.

Then I thought of how failure to take early action can really hurt you. They tell me that had I gone to the doctor within 72 hours of the first sign of infection the medication is much more effective at shortening the length of the infection. Unfortunately, I put off doing anything about it for about 5-6 days so these huge pills I'm taking are essentially just expensive placebos. Too often we have the opportunity to take immediate action to resolve a situation and instead we hesitate and the result is that things get more painful, last longer and are overall much worse.

But the honest lesson for me is one about humility. You see, there are three types of people who get shingles: people with compromised immune systems, the elderly, and those under acute stress. Well since I have a fully functioning immune system and I'm only 36...I must be stressed out. I have always taken pride that I'm a person who stays pretty calm regardless of the situation. But the truth is that I am person who "acts" pretty calm.

If I'm honest then I have to say that I really was very stressed out and I could use your prayers.

Life is hard and sometimes I just need to tell people that. As a leader that can be doubly hard because so many people rely on you to set the tone and lead the way. But even the most stoic leaders need a safe place to admit their anxieties.

I know that was a pretty good lesson to learn...but I'm still not sure it was worth it. :-)