Let’s review and expand on my Takeaways from my husband’s hand injury:
- Men – listen to your wives! I try not to be the “I told you so” wife, but for some reason, when it comes to the care of my family, my gut has never steered us wrong.
- Every part is needful. One injured digit can hinder your entire life.
- Fake news isn’t good news; so don’t be afraid of the truth.
- Serious wounds should not be left covered.
I will resist the temptation to expound on Takeaway #1. (wink-wink!)
Takeaway #2: Every part is needful – one injured digit can hinder your entire life.
My husband has told me often since this accident how much of a hassle it is that he can’t fully use his dominant hand and how challenging it is to execute the most mundane tasks, like writing and shaving. My poor husband. He has seriously struggled to keep a level of normalcy in his life all the while being in pain, enduring swelling and pressure within the bandage, and having trouble sleeping and executing his everyday tasks. I have become a lot more conscious of what he cannot do in order to help him. I’m oftentimes in my own little world, so I’ve really had to concentrate on being aware of what he’s doing so I can step in to assist when he needs me. Every part of his life has been affected by this temporary handicap which has really driven home the message that every part of the body is needful and that we take it all for granted until we can’t.
The same is true in the body of Christ, and I would even expand to say, any community that requires people to interact in an interdependent way. Let me ask us all this: Are we noticing the wounded? Are we on the lookout for those in our community who are missing, silent or seem to have slunk back into the shadows? And if we’re the one who’s wounded, are we seeking healing in a purposeful way? It’s so easy to remain wounded and, as a result, remove ourselves from being an integral part of our community. But the Lord is the Great Physician and He came to bring healing for our woundedness. He sets the lonely into families because the community needs us and we need them.
Psalm 68:5-6a (NLT) – Father to the fatherless, defender of widows–this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
Takeaway #3: Fake news isn’t good news – so don’t be afraid of the truth.
Only a real diagnosis can lead to a real treatment plan. What if John had refused to go to the specialist? What if he decided that he didn’t want to hear anything negative so he just kept the finger covered and tried to move on? How do you think that would have worked out for him?
So many times, we have symptoms in our lives that are signaling that something is sick inside. Our reactions or internal self-talk are feverishly “off” yet we ignore the symptoms in order to avoid the diagnosis that we are “infirm” – either emotionally, mentally or spiritually. It’s easier to ignore the problem than to face the diagnosis. However, there isn’t one internal wound, injury or sorrow that Jesus hasn’t got the cure for. The diagnosis isn’t the end of the story – it’s the beginning of our journey toward freedom and healing. We can take solace in the fact that the Creator of the Universe knows how to treat what ails us. He is both the Doctor and the Cure.
Takeaway #4: Serious wounds should not be left covered.
The day after John had the appointment with the hand specialist, I met with my daughter for lunch. Ashley is a nurse. When I told her about the new doctor and his instructions, Ashley was in shock that the first doctor had not told Dad to uncover and rinse his wound. She said that was Wound Care 101. She said you never leave a serious wound covered due to the risk of bone and blood infection. The external wound develops an infection that now poisons the whole body. I had not even thought of that until she mentioned it – and now I was seriously glad that I had been adamant about John getting a second opinion BEFORE we left for Mexico!
Then a few nights ago, I was meeting with a wonderful group of ladies whom I meet with every Thursday at a transitions home called Lydia’s House of Hope. These lovely ladies are recovering from all sorts of addictions, painful backgrounds, and emotional and physical wounds caused by themselves and others. They are learning how to live sober, healthy and whole. Most of them are coming out of a cycle of homelessness and poverty.
In our weekly group, we were discussing the role of the Word of God in healing the wounds caused by our own choices and the choices of others. All of sudden, the topic of John’s hand care came to my mind as we talked. I told them about what could have happened if John had kept the wound covered and not brought it out into the light for routine cleansing.
I explained that his physical wound is like the wounds in our hearts. We want so badly to keep them pressed down, under the surface where no one, including ourselves can see them. It’s easier to try to ignore the pain than unwrap it. But that’s just as dangerous as John leaving his finger covered for days on end. Just as John has to unwrap his finger and submerge it three times a day in an antibacterial liquid, we need to bring our pain out into the light and submerge it in the healing anointing of God’s Word. Only the Word of God can heal the heart completely and restore us to true and lasting stability better than we were before the wound happened.
I went on to say that after John soaks his hand in the antibacterial solution, it’s time to gently wrap it back up. The same applies to our internal wounds. We expose them routinely for a period of time to the healing Word of God then we gently come under the covering of the Lord’s protection while the healing takes place under the surface. Gradually, we will notice the pain subside and the healing begin to change the surface of our heart. We notice that it doesn’t hurt as much to unwrap the covering. It doesn’t keep us awake at night anymore. It doesn’t hurt when someone accidentally hits that spot with their words or actions. When we unwrap the bandage to see what’s underneath, we’re not freaked out wondering if this will ever be same again. We are seeing the healing manifest and we know that in time, we will be whole.
Psalm 57:1 – Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.
Psalm 147:3 – He heals the brokenhearted, and bandages their wounds.
Proverbs 4: 20-22 – My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.
Matthew 8:16 – And when evening had come, they brought unto him many possessed with demons: and he cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all that were sick.
What about you:
- Are you keeping your woundedness under the surface?
- Are you afraid to bring your pain out into the light?
- Are you worried that you are too broken to heal?
- Do you know the power of the Word of God?
- Do you have a relationship with Jesus, the Son of God Who takes away your sin, your shame and brings all healing and restoration?
One day, some men who very proud of how religious they were, came to Jesus and criticized him for hanging around “sinners”. Jesus looked at them and said, ‘It’s not the healthy but the sick who need a Physician’. Jesus was telling us all that He came as the Great Physician. He made us and as a result knows better than anyone how to fix us.
Mark 2:17 – And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Let’s pray:
Dear Lord Jesus, I receive you into my heart as my Savior and my Great Physician. I ask you to gently bring healing through your Word and the anointing of Your presence found in your Word. I admit, Lord, that I’m afraid to unwrap this pain. I have believed a lie that my brokenness might be more than you can handle. But now, as an act of my will, I am making the decision to trust You. I trust Your love for me and Your faithfulness and Your power over everything that has tried to take me out. You are greater than fear and Your blood has washed away my shame. As I go to Your Word to find scriptures that I can apply as medicine to my heart, please speak to me and guide me to the portions of Your Word that are my prescription for this season of healing. I love You, Jesus. You are my Hope. Amen.
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