Today at work I had a six year old boy come in to the first aid station (accompanied by his mother) with a splinter under one of his fingernails. I set to work removing it; a painful process. The boy cried and shouted as I clipped and dug. Yet this didn't seem to bother me, as I knew the splinter needed to come out and that he'd feel better once it was all done. Occasionally it hurt so much he needed to take a break from me working on it. The boy also knew it would be better to go ahead and get it out right then instead of waiting until he got home. This didn't make the pain any less for him, and it took a good little while before the splinter finally came out.
On my way home, I had a "heart tug" moment -- a moment where something from the past comes to mind and I feel a little pain in my heart. At this point God opened my eyes to see the connection to the splinter. See, sometimes choices we make or just life circumstances leave splinters in our hearts. And while we know these need to be removed, God has to remove them His way. And when the pain is too much He'll stop for a bit, but this doesn't mean it's all over. No, He carries on His work until the splinter is completely removed. In fact, if He stopped part way it would've virtually been a waste just like if the boy had left before I got the splinter out. When his mom would try later, the skin would've healed, maybe even scabbed around it, and undone all the effort so far.
I love it when God makes things so clear!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
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