The Road to Healing

I have very few memories of my life before the age of five, but one of them that I remember is running behind my sisters at my grandmother’s house and falling on a gravel and cement walkway. The fall tore the skin under my eyebrow. My grandmother tended to it by placing a bandage on the cut. Later that evening, as my mom was combing my hair, the bandaid fell off and blood went everywhere.

 My next memory is being in a doctor's office above the local drugstore in my neighborhood. I remember a bright light and screaming as he stitched my eye. I have the scar to this day, and if you look closely at my pictures, you can see it. It is the place where the eyeshadow does not sit well.

 This story reminds me that some wounds in our lives require more than a topical approach. The deeper the hurt the more significant the work of healing that needs to take place. Sometimes I wonder why people are the way they are? And then the spirit of God nudges me and says perhaps they are applying a bandaid where more profound work needs to occur. Felecia, didn't God do that for you in your life?

 So how do you get to that place where you can begin to move toward healing? First, acknowledge that something has happened to you and you are in pain. Then, seek out the right resources to help stop the bleeding. It can be a spiritual mentor, professional counselor, or whoever is your trusted companion where you can speak your truth.  Allow time to heal, and do not rush the process of what God wants to do for you and in you.

Sometimes you can't revisit those places that wounded you or caused you the pain until your healing is complete. You will know that you are on the other side when facing what caused the wound, does not cause you pain. The memory remains, but the pain with the memory subsides.

 I suspect that I continued to walk on that gravel and cement walkway at my grandmother's house. I know I continued to get my hair combed, but now without the pain of that hot summer day. I still have the scar and when I look at it, it reminds me of what happened that day; however, the pain of falling, the wound of the skin laying open, and the stitches are only a memory.

There is a quote that says, “wounds are where the light of God can shine.” I often say yes if the wound has healed. God is a healer, not just in the big things but in the small areas of our lives that we often neglect. Are you willing to get on the road to healing?