Wounds Heal

Daily Gratitude Year 6- Day 116: Today, I grateful wounds heal when we stop touching them. 

"To heal a wound, you need to stop touching it." 

I can hear Mama Ina Mae in this quote as if she were in the next room. Why is it that when we have a wound, just as it begins to heal, we start picking at it? Next thing you know, it is bleeding again. Why does that surprise us? 

Human nature is a funny thing. By the time a wound is healing, you are past most of the pain and discomfort. Healing takes time, but the process is more patience than pain... until we continue to touch it and impair the healing process. I remember Mama saying, "The more you mess with it, the worse it will scar. Leave it alone!" Touching it over and over leads to infection and other problems. 

Could it be, this is as much the way it goes with emotional wounds and relationship struggles? Now, I am not saying ignore or deny a serious mental health issues, but when resolution is desired, we have to "stop touching it" to allow healing. 

One of my favorite Albert Einstein quotes is his definition of insanity: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results". Narcotics anonymous printed it in an 1981 pamphlet and it is still quoted often in circles of those trying to break addiction cycles. To get different results, we have to do something different. 

If we want a wound to heal, it can't become our identity. It is simply part of our story. This is one of the reasons I support Dressember and the International Justice Mission. 

Our scars should remind us that we have faced trials and pain and have overcome. Stretchmarks and C-section scars are reminders of the wonder of an amazing body that can stretch enough to grow a new life inside and deliver it safely into the world. It is a miracle every time, not something to bring shame or feelings of disgust. 

Jesus led us down the path of healing through forgiveness when he taught us to pray. He didn't intend for it to be a secret, but so often we miss the point. Look at his prayers: 

"Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who have sinned against us." -Luke 11:4  

These words should be carefully prayed. Our portion of forgiveness impacts how we are forgiven. I've often said this is the scariest line in the Lord's prayer. 

But look at our Jesus. This is his prayer on the cross: 

He prayed for the men nailing him to the cross.  "When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross... Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice." -Luke 23:33-34

He didn't wait to forgive until he was ready. He did it in the moment... and as they laughed, mocked and threw dice of his clothing. Wow! Another reminder I have such a long way to go to truly be like him. He was ready to forgive the thieves who hung beside him, in the midst of his own misery and exhaustion. 

Forgiveness doesn't change that we've been wounded. Forgiveness allows us to set free the burdens of hurt, disappointment, pain and anger. Forgiveness lightens our souls. The truth is, the unforgiveness we carry around like it is something precious only weighs us down. Letting it go frees us, but we might have to do something different with the time and energy we spent "picking at the wound". That requires doing something different to get different results. 

Are you struggling with a wound? Do you find  you can't to leave alone. Give it to Jesus. He will carry it for you and intercede on your behalf. 

I wasn't looking for a third scripture this morning, but the "boss of me" perfectly picked this one as my verse of the day. 

"Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf."  -Hebrews 7:25

"Let it go"... such a powerful, soulful Disney tune that Earworm has chosen to sing this morning... and it fits. To forgive, we must open our hands and let the burden go. We must stop touching the wound. 

Today, I grateful wounds heal when we stop touching them.