Wounds

My (Aimee’s) God-daughter got a splinter in one of her toes.

 

And she didn’t tell anyone.

 

She’s almost 4.

 

We’re not sure how much time had passed before her mom noticed it. But at that point, the wound was black, and the skin around it was inflamed—red and a little puffy. And definitely tender.

 

We explained to her that we needed to get the splinter out. We also told her that it would probably hurt while trying to get it out, but that if we left it alone it was going to get worse and start to hurt more and more. She wasn’t happy to hear any of that, of course, but she nodded and let us get to work.

 

She sat on my lap while her mom and my mom worked on her toe. She was very brave. Although it hurt and she cried some, she didn’t kick or fight, she never asked them to stop, she let them do what they needed to do. Then my mom put some antibiotic and a band-aid on and we told her that next time she gets a splinter she needs to say something right away so that we can deal with it immediately, because then it wouldn’t have hurt so much. Within a minute or two after that, her tears were completely forgotten and she was laughing at something on the television.

 

Why am I sharing this story?

 

A couple of days later I was listening as a friend unburdened some stressful/painful memories. She explained that she has only recently come to understand that she needs to really deal with certain things from her past so that she can heal instead of allowing those wounds to continue to get worse. Then, I shared with her the story about my little one’s splinter.

 

See, emotional wounds are like physical wounds. If you ignore them—trying to pretend they aren’t there or hoping that they’ll heal on their own—they fester (which means “to rot”). If you fiddle with the wound to attend to it, it will probably hurt. It might even hurt a lot. But it allows the healing to begin. The longer that it’s left alone to fester, the more painful it will be when you finally deal with it. Or, if left completely unattended, it will continue to fester and begin to spread.

 

Do you see it now?

 

God has no desire for you to be one of the walking-wounded. He can help, if you let Him. In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus says:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

When we turn to Him we can find the healing that we need. No matter your burden, He can take it away. He created the universe, He created you, He can handle anything you want to throw at Him. Turn to Him and give your burdens to Him and learn how to walk with Him. When we walk in His will, we find that the “burdens” He places on us aren’t even burdens at all. He makes our lives easier by giving us the right perspective (I’ll give you a hint: it’s all about Him).

 

Go talk to your Christian friends, elder members of your church, your pastor … there are, no doubt, many people in your life who can help you deal with your wounds so that you can begin healing. They’ll point you to God’s truth, and your life will never be the same again!

 

Go ahead, try it out and see.