Proud

 

I’m proud of myself. 

I have successfully scheduled to use up all of my credits at Massage Envy 

So I can cancel my membership! 

 

When I joined Massage Envy, 

I was living in Columbia, SC, 

Where a franchise location was convenient. 

The membership fee was also less while  

My salary was more. 

 

While in SC, I faithfully received my monthly massages and easily used up my credits. 

Then I moved home. 

To Harnett County. 

Where a franchise location is not convenient. 

 

For awhile, 

I was able to keep up with my massages

Because I was driving to Raleigh for therapy with Joe the Counselor. 

I called it therapy night. 

I would first see Joe for mental therapy, 

And then I would go to Massage Envy for body therapy. 

 

Then life happened. 

And Covid hit. 

And I stopped going to see Joe in person. 

And my massages started accruing. 

 

At one point, I had 27 credits! 

If I would have cancelled my membership, 

Then I would have lost all of those credits and a lot of money. 

 

So I went into action. 

I gave away as many massages as I could. 

And I went on in the freeze plus program, 

Where you pay a discounted rate to keep your membership without accruing more massages. 

I scheduled massages every week possible and I even got facials! 

 

And now, 

If all goes as planned in January,

I am out from under my membership 

And I can cancel without losing money. 

 

So I am proud of myself. 

I have worked hard to accomplish a daunting goal of luxury. 

 

In addition to the membership, 

I have spent way too much money on gas and tips,

But I have done it.

 

And so I celebrate 

This small victory at the end of 2024 

And I hope to be a better steward of my money in 2025. 

 

What about you?

What small, or large, victory can you celebrate at the end of 2024? 

And what do you hope for 2025? 

 

Whatever it is, 

Even if it’s just surviving,

I celebrate and hope with you 

Because we’re on this journey together, friend,

And goodness abounds. 

 

Amen. 

Down Deep

 

I’ve been a member of Massage Envy for over a decade now.

I joined when I lived in SC and made more money than I currently make.

I haven’t let the membership lapse because I always have massages lying in wait,

And I don’t want to waste the money I’ve already spent…

And so I keep the membership going, thinking that I’ll catch up on massages one day,

Only to watch more and more massages accrue and more and more money seemingly go down the drain :-\.

 

That being said,

I’m in a catch-up cycle right now.

At the beginning of the year, I made it my goal to use my massages,

And so I booked a massage every Friday afternoon for five weeks.

Here’s the deal, though:

There was only one massage therapist available at the time I could go,

And he wasn’t very good.

I went because I needed to use up my massages.

I didn’t go because I was receiving the therapeutic benefits of massage.

 

That all changed last Friday.

On a whim, after not going in for a few weeks,

I decided to see if an appointment was available for that day.

There was.

And it was with a different therapist.

So I booked it.

I figured that he couldn’t be much worse than the therapist I’d been seeing.

 

Come to find out,

The new guy was actually an old guy I’d seen years ago.

He had left my location, gone to another, and then landed at the Umstead.

He didn’t like the Umstead, however, because he had to keep the massages relaxing,

And he likes to do more therapeutic work.

 

And boy does he.

As soon as he started my massage,

I knew that it was going to be different than the massages I’d lain through at the beginning of the year.

My new therapist, Anthony, went down deep into my muscles,

All the while stretching them as he went.

There were moments when the work he did hurt,

But it was a good hurt,

And when I left, I felt different.

The tension in my lower back and glutes was gone

And I was pain-free for the first time in a long time.

 

I think that’s how it is with life sometimes, too.

I think sometimes we have to go down deep,

Stretch ourselves, and make ourselves

Face the things that we don’t usually face

In order for the pain to dissipate.

That’s the beauty of counseling.

It’s also the beauty of prayer.

 

Dear God: You are everywhere if we but have the eyes to see and the ears to hear. Thank you for making your presence known on a Friday afternoon in an appointment that I expected little from but that I wanted to keep to be a good steward of the resources you have given. Help all of us to be good stewards of our resources and to catch glimpses of you in wherever we end up. Thank you that, through pain, there is often progress, and that you provide us with people to help in the processes that are beyond our expertise. Help us to seek out others who will strengthen us and make us better for your service. It’s in your loving and life-giving name that I pray, Amen.

 

By the way, I’ve scheduled more massages with Anthony.

How could I not?!