Last winter I experienced a wound on my foot that didn't want to heal. No one saw it but, oh I felt it! Left alone it could have led to a major infection. It could have become smelly, even uglier and messier. But I did treat it. I made time to do what needed to be done to promote healing. The process was not fun. I limped around in the process. Eventually complete healing was achieved - but a scar remains.
Many years ago two of my aunts and I talked about the process of growing older. We talked about the fact that as people age, we lose our filters. We'd all seen undealt with injuries squirting out at the most inopportune times! Wounds left to themselves become ugly and demanding. They cause us to remember hurts from 36 years ago with pain. They pop up in our words of judgment and criticism oozing with anger and frustration. They sever relationships, hinder friendships, weaken our testimony, destroy marriages. Old, unhealed wounds are nasty and smelly and messy.
We asked God to help us to grow old gracefully and wisely; choosing to deal with our wounds as they occur. We made this promise to each other and plea to God when life was peaceful and plans were going according to our schedules. The past three years have brought two cancers and a major disability into our worlds but our heart's cry is still the same. We are still determined to bring the daily wounds to our heavenly Father for healing. We choose to forgive. We choose to love. We choose to praise and rejoice in the midst of our suffering. We choose intentional thankfulness; choosing gratitude over entitlement. To live God's Word. As the years go by and we approach the years of weakening filters, may we continue to surrender to the work of God in our lives; bringing healing to the wounds of life. By HIS wounds we ARE HEALED. Dear friends, let's do what it takes to walk in His healing and wear our scars to the glory of God.
