The Band-Aide

Well, this is the longest I've gone without updating my blog. For some reason, I have not been at peace about the three compositions I have written since last time I posted so I have put them on the "shelf" waiting to see what God wants me to do with them.   In the meantime, I hope you enjoy reading what I've titled The Band-Aide.

Every year around the holiday time I seem to injure myself in the kitchen. I think I get caught up in the excitement of the holiday that I don’t pay close attention to what I am doing and I either cut or burn myself. Therefore, every year around holiday time as I make my list, my husband gently reminds me to buy Band-Aids.  A few Thanksgivings ago, I cut a portion of my index finger while chopping in the kitchen.  (Sorry if that is too graphic.) My index finger had an indention in it from the careless act.  Of course, when I went in search for a band aide we were all out.  Therefore, I decided to make an imitation band aid using paper towels and duct tape. (Oh, how I wish I had a picture of it).

Sadly, I am afraid that many of us have been walking around with wounds that we have placed imitation Band-Aids on.  The holidays are a great reminder of the cheap imitation Band-Aids we’ve been using all year long because they just can’t handle the stress holidays bring. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a pessimist about the holiday season. I love seeing people filled with love, laughter, and joy.  However, I am also aware that the holiday season brings hurt and pain to people. For some people the holiday season is filled with heartache, stress, and burden.  Relationships that are on thin ice to begin with are magnified during the holiday time with all the togetherness that the holiday season demands. On the other side of the spectrum, the lack of togetherness because families are strained creates a sense of loneliness and hurt.  I have to say in the past, I have experienced both.  However, I have also discovered victory in this!

Psalm 147:3 says “He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds.” How can the answer be so simple yet so complicated? Jesus can heal these relational wounds.  Jesus can heal these wounds maybe not by fixing the relationship (although He could do that) but by getting rid of any guilt, sorrow, and worries you have about it. In essence, He leaves you at peace and not in the turmoil of before.  The scar may be there, but the wound is not.  The scar becomes NOT a mark of pain but a mark of PERSEVERANCE.  The scar is not there to dwell on the past but to look toward the future. 

With my index finger, after an hour of the cheap imitation Band-Aid, my hubby ran to the store and got me the REAL thing. My index finger skin that I cut off grew back and it is now a laughable story.  Don’t waste your time on the imitation stuff.  It will never do the job.