One of those annoying Barney Children Songs comes to mind thinking about healing. The one that goes a bit like this, "can't go over it, can't go around it, can't go under it...we gotta go through it." When little kids sing the words, they are typically referring to some big adventure and having to go through the swamp or somewhere a bit scary. However, it has many applications to the healing process.
I went to the doctor yesterday (and the day before) for my knee, I have had issues with it for a few years now, but a recent football injury has made it worse. I kept avoiding going to the doctor, but the pain was just getting worse, so I finally caved and went. I had had all the possibilities of what the doctor could possibly tell me running through my head, infecting my positive attitude during the days leading up to yesterday. Yet, after x-rays and contorting my knee in all sorts of ways, the doctor merely concluded that I have extremely tight hamstring muscles that are messing with my patella and joints inside my knee. He said with some pain medicine and physical therapy, the pain should go away.
I have to admit, that is not what I wanted to hear. I want the pain to go away right now...that was the whole point of going to the doctor-TO MAKE IT BETTER. I know surgery would hurt as well as any other possibility....but why does the healing of my knee have to hurt when it already hurts?!
This is where that song comes into play. When talking about healing, we can't just skip across to the "all-better" side of things. We can not go around the pain, we can not go over the pain, we can not go around the pain....we simply have to truck through it. Sometimes the pain is the size of a lake, others the Grand Canyon and others the size of all the oceans put together....but no matter how big the pain, the "all-better" side is still there.
All of this sounds pretty pessimistic for a girl whom is trying to find the joy in all circumstances right? Ya, I know...but here is where the Son shines. When Christians ask for healing, whether it be physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual healing; there is an upside. We are not promised that we get to go around or above or under the pain, but we are promised a partner through the pain. "Even though I walk, through the valley of the shadow of death, I won't look back..I know You are there." Jesus himself will be walking with us through the pain.
Its like the man at the water, Jesus healed him and allowed him to walk again, but have you ever thought about the hardships that the man had yet to endure. He had to stand, a task that probably didn't feel the greatest after years of not being able to move. He had to go into a society in which he had been practically shunned and make a way for himself. Healing calls for action...this action often brings pain.
I have a few friends who have been talking to me about the kind of healing that God is doing in them right now. Many of them have been in bad relationships in the past few years and have prayed and prayed for healing from the pain that these brought. They have all realized that healing often hurts more than the actual feelings themselves...healing does not mean an escape, it means a future of prosperity.
In the process of healing, God often brings about old and painful emotions that only get more painful with time, He gives us difficult tasks like forgiveness or physical therapy. The process is a painful one that we can not avoid. Yet the positive comes in the fact that we are not alone. He is right there with us, holding our hand and wiping our tears all the way through...He is cheering us on when it gets tough and even there to pick us up and cradle us through when we just can't move any further.
People turn to all sorts of things for healing. Honestly, many of these things come with an instant "all-better" button, but that button wares off with time. When we turn to the things of this world for healing, sure it may feel a lot better in an instant, but soon that will ware off and the pain is going to be worse. However, if we turn to God and stick out the pain....the other side will be ever so rewarding.
That's just something I have been thinking about....
so bring on the physical therapy...
bring on the pain...
because I know the promise of what comes later.
<3
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