Blisters, scrapes and bandages

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By Jan Davis

Special to The PREVIEW

Sarah begged, “Mama, please let me wear my new flats.”

“You need to break them in around the house first. If worn too long, nasty sores will appear on your heels,” her mom cautioned.

Sarah rolled her eyes in stubborn defiance. “You worry way too much.”

Despite her mother’s warnings, Sarah hurried off to school in her new shoes. By the end of the day, she regretted her decision. The reason stuffed in her unicorn backpack as she hobbled barefoot home.

One look at her daughter’s feet made her mom’s heart break. “Let me clean those blisters and put a sterile dressing on for extra protection.” Mom rushed to the bathroom cabinet to retrieve antibacterial ointment and bandages.

A few days later, Sarah’s brother, Joey, lay beside his bike and sobbed. “Daddy help.”

“It’s just a little scrape,” he calmed his son and lifted him into his arms. Joey put on a brave face, while Mom held his hand and Dad administered the antiseptic.

“All done. You’ll be back on your bicycle in no time.” His dad smiled at his son’s bravery as he covered the scrape with a protective bandage. The medicine prevented contamination while the gauze provided a shield against further injury.

As children of our Heavenly Father, we sometimes stumble and receive spiritual grief. Invisible to the naked eye, but painful.

Determined to live life our way, we rebel against God’s will and rush off without regard to the consequences. Despair knocks us down and, in humility, we hobble back to Jesus.

Sometimes injuries occur because of unavoidable circumstances. Through no fault of our own, life brings us to our knees. We cry out to our Heavenly Father and he rushes to our side. He lifts us up and administers his tender mercy as a balm to our bruised self-image.

God sanitizes our wounded heart with the oil of His Holy Spirit poured deep into our injured soul to end the spread of infection. The process is difficult, but necessary.

His love shrouds us as we mend from the inside out. Exposed to the light of His Word, the old scab falls away to reveal a restored and stronger version of us.

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” — Psalms 147:3 (NASB).

Jesus, The Great Physician, is on call 24/7 to heal.

I love you, but Jesus loves you more.