Different wounds cause different kinds of pain. Deeper wounds require a longer time to heal. Some wounds will leave scars, others not a mark.
I was reminded of this a few minutes ago in the shower, when my new wounds were being blasted with hot water. The surface scratches just stung a big when hit. But the deeper gouges, the ones that left more of my inner flesh exposed and vulnerable, hurt deeply and burned terribly. Parts of my body that have never seen the light of day, those underneath-the-skin parts, didn’t know what hit them and their reaction was pain. The cleaning process of the shower was a good thing – making sure there was no residual dirt that could cause infection. But as good and important as that process is, it just plain hurts.
The simple scrapes scab more quickly. The deeper, more profound cuts take longer to get to that point. The healing is a longer ordeal. The cells are working just as hard to make healing happen, but the bigger the wound, the more the work the cells have to do. Once those scabs of healing begin to form, the shower will not be such as excruciating event.
I scar easily. So some of these owies are gonna leave lasting marks. Quick references to yet another humiliating memory of my lack of athletic agility and ability. But the light scratches will be gone and forgotten quickly, even on my “tender flesh” 🙂
Analogy time…We have different levels of pain in our lives caused by choices, experiences and just the wear and tear of everyday life. Some wounds are minor and are easily healed and quickly forgotten. But some go deep. And we can’t expect that these are not going to take a while to clean out and heal. We have to allow the process. We have to allow the time for that process. We have to allow the grace that is required for such a process, in others and in ourselves.
God is right there to help us begin the healing process. He is the Great Physician. But we have to be willing to let Him take the bandaid off that we have put there to cover the wound. We need to let him wash it and tenderly clean it out. And then the waiting. The watching. Seeing new skin form, maybe scarred, but new. Beauty replacing the ugly, gaping, aching hole that was the wound. The miracle of healing. Not painless, but the only way to be healthy and to live the abundant life that Jesus offers.
