Diving Without Getting The Bends

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (John 14:26)

I’ve never gone diving. It is one of the things I wish I had done. I love the water. Whether swimming in the lake or snorkeling in the ocean, the water calms my anxious heart. Except, of course, for the time in Palm Beach, Florida, when sharks surrounded a friend and me. Otherwise, underwater is a place without gravity and embraces you like a huge hug. The only problem with deep sea hugs is that they can give you the bends.

The bends are also known as decompression sickness. According to the Harvard Health website, the bends “refers to injuries caused by a rapid decrease in the pressure that surrounds you, of either air or water.” “If this transition occurs too quickly, the nitrogen does not have time to clear from your blood. Instead it separates out of your blood and forms bubbles in your tissues or blood.” If the bends happen to you, the joint and bone pain is horrific. In his article “The Bends,” Roman Newell reports, “Decompression, like everything, is a process. Most process[s] cannot be rushed.” “In an ocean trauma there is embolism, joint pain, ruptured lung tissue. Much depends upon proper depressurization.”

Deep water and soaring heights are not the only places you can get the bends. We can suffer emotional and spiritual bends whenever our world gets thrown quickly out of whack. Losing a job or a loved one are two examples of emotional and spiritual bends. Newell reminds us, “We all have to come up for air.” Rather than kick until we reach the surface, the spiritual bends require us to receive the divine air of the Holy Spirit to restore our health and overcome the pain.

Once we’ve overcome the bends a few times, we learn what to look for and know the benefit of avoiding the decompression sickness. We prevent the spiritual bends through preparation, not avoidance. Spiritual and emotional pain is unavoidable. We all experience health issues, loss, and many other struggles. The way we avoid the bends is to step into the pain and work through the process slowly. As people of faith, we learn the courage and wisdom to live through the pain so we do not get spiritual decompression sickness. When we are strong enough to endure grieving properly, we remain strong and healthy physically, spiritually, and emotionally.