10 years ago when my daughter was born via c-section, it was the first time I had ever experienced major surgery. During the surgery, although I was awake, the medicine they gave me left me completely numb so that I didn’t feel any pain. My daughter was born on an evening, and the following morning at 8 a.m, the nurse came to my room and said I needed to get out of bed and walk. By then the epidural had worn off, and I was in the worst pain I had every felt in my life. I looked at the nurse like she was crazy. I could barely move while laying in the hospital bed, much less get up out of bed and walk. The nurse wouldn’t relent and I begrudgingly got up out of bed and walked to the bathroom one painful step at a time. But something interesting happened a few hours later. The pain started to lessen. I was told that although I was in excruciating pain, the only way for my body to begin healing was to get up and start moving. I had to push through the pain so that I could start to heal and actually begin to feel better.
In Christine Caine’s book “Unashamed”, she recounts the story of her own healing process after tearing the ACL in her knee. She said that her physical therapist told her that her healing would be “quick or slow, complete or partial, based on her willingness to embrace the pain of recovery” Sometimes we have to decide that we’re willing to accept the pain it’s going to take to get better, so that we can actually experience healing.
These stories remind me of the pain that many of us carry deep inside. It could have come from a traumatic experience from our childhood, or from something someone said that wounded our heart, or even guilt and pain brought on by something we have caused. But instead of facing the pain and pushing through it, it’s so much easier to medicate the pain with drugs, alcohol, food, or even keeping ourselves so busy that we don’t have time to feel the pain. But in order to experience complete healing, we have to allow our hearts to revisit those painful memories and allow God into those hurt and broken places, so that He can bring us real healing and freedom. This might mean that you need to talk to a Christian counselor, or a trusted friend, or someone in ministry who is trained to help you with this. But don’t let the shame and the pain that you carry deep in your heart, keep you from the life that God has for you. He loves you. He wants to heal you. And He wants to use your story to help set others free. ~ Vijoy
