Healing

Wednesday night, at the first ever Commit Conference, I was sitting on the steps of the UAM Fine Arts Center. I put my hand down to get up, and racked my finger across a piece of clipped wire that I didn't know was there. A tiny piece of it embedded itself in my finger like a splinter. It hurt for a few minutes, but I soon forgot about it. Later that night, something put pressure on that finger in the very spot where the sliver of metal was still embedded, and the sting of pain reminded me it was there. This went on for several days; I'd forget, inadvertently rake across it, and the pain would remind me. Finally, I decided to get it out. After allowing a nurse to poke and squeeze on the finger until this sliver was removed, it began to be a constant ache. I asked myself, "why didn't I just leave it alone?" Well, the answer is because eventually it could get infected and become a much bigger pain than it was now.

Then I had the thought, "isn't this indicative of our lives as children of God?" A lot of times we allow situations to go on in our lives, believing that they don't really cause us pain. The longer we allow them to "fester", the longer we wallow in our sin, or watch a friend wallow in theirs. But the minute we decide to face them, the pain becomes, well...PAINFULLY obvious. But, that's all part of God's healing process. We must face the pain and endure the pain in order for Him to truly heal us.

What are you allowing to go on in your life that you need to take to God? Take it to Him. Let Him have it. Oh, I guarantee you, it WILL hurt. But once it "heals", you'll feel a freedom you never knew existed.