Our dog, Sheba, is recovering from a flying leap she took from the back of my husband's truck a few weeks ago. Her injuries, while not critical, were somewhat serious, requiring all four feet to be bandaged while the resulting wounds are healing - I'll spare you the gory details.
On her first trip home from the vet, she was fitted with a soft satellite collar, made of a somewhat flexible but stiff fabric designed to keep her from disturbing the bandages on her feet. The vet's assistant said she looked like a little sunflower. Sheba was not amused.
She proved to be a little smarter than what she was wearing and managed to find a way to lay down where she could still reach her feet, and so after her next trip to the vet, she was sent home with a clear plastic "Elizabethan" collar. This one, as you can imagine by its name, is more restrictive, and she is even less amused when she has to wear it, which is while we are at work and while we sleep at night - and any other time we catch her fiddling with her bandages. This she does at every opportunity.
I observed her the other day as she watched David leave the room, and the second he was out of sight and she thought no one was watching, she commenced to chewing on the bandages. She was quickly reprimanded, of course, simply because her feet need to heal, and in order for this happen, the she must learn to stop disturbing the bandages, no matter how uncomfortable they may be.
Hence the object lesson. How many times have I found myself in a position where God is trying to accomplish a specific work in me, and all I want to do is wiggle and squirm and try to find a way out of it? The healing process is never comfortable, rarely easy, and often painful in itself. Our need for healing may stem from some kind of abuse or trauma, or it could be the result of our own bad decisions. Most often it is some combination of these things. Whatever caused our spirits, emotions, and hearts to become wounded, the Healer is capable and ready to employ all of His healing power to restore that which was lost and renew that which has been broken.
The x-factor in the equation is our willingness to submit to the process. Sheba has continued to somehow find a way to remove the bandage from one of her front feet, and we cannot figure out how she is accessing the foot with this plastic collar in place. Every time she removes the bandage, it has to be replaced, which is an unpleasant process for both her and me, but I am determined that her feet will heal and not become infected in the process.
If only my determination were so strong regarding my own healing.
Lord, I know that Your plans for me are good, and that Your desire is for me to be completely whole in every way. Help me to rest in You and completely trust You to complete the good work You have begun in me, to quiet my spirit and submit to Your strong and gentle hand as You restore my soul. Help me to not become so "smart" that I continue to find a way out of what You are doing in me. May I simply place my bandaged heart into Your hands and let You do Your beautiful healing work in me. Amen.
On her first trip home from the vet, she was fitted with a soft satellite collar, made of a somewhat flexible but stiff fabric designed to keep her from disturbing the bandages on her feet. The vet's assistant said she looked like a little sunflower. Sheba was not amused.
She proved to be a little smarter than what she was wearing and managed to find a way to lay down where she could still reach her feet, and so after her next trip to the vet, she was sent home with a clear plastic "Elizabethan" collar. This one, as you can imagine by its name, is more restrictive, and she is even less amused when she has to wear it, which is while we are at work and while we sleep at night - and any other time we catch her fiddling with her bandages. This she does at every opportunity.
I observed her the other day as she watched David leave the room, and the second he was out of sight and she thought no one was watching, she commenced to chewing on the bandages. She was quickly reprimanded, of course, simply because her feet need to heal, and in order for this happen, the she must learn to stop disturbing the bandages, no matter how uncomfortable they may be.
Hence the object lesson. How many times have I found myself in a position where God is trying to accomplish a specific work in me, and all I want to do is wiggle and squirm and try to find a way out of it? The healing process is never comfortable, rarely easy, and often painful in itself. Our need for healing may stem from some kind of abuse or trauma, or it could be the result of our own bad decisions. Most often it is some combination of these things. Whatever caused our spirits, emotions, and hearts to become wounded, the Healer is capable and ready to employ all of His healing power to restore that which was lost and renew that which has been broken.
The x-factor in the equation is our willingness to submit to the process. Sheba has continued to somehow find a way to remove the bandage from one of her front feet, and we cannot figure out how she is accessing the foot with this plastic collar in place. Every time she removes the bandage, it has to be replaced, which is an unpleasant process for both her and me, but I am determined that her feet will heal and not become infected in the process.
If only my determination were so strong regarding my own healing.
Lord, I know that Your plans for me are good, and that Your desire is for me to be completely whole in every way. Help me to rest in You and completely trust You to complete the good work You have begun in me, to quiet my spirit and submit to Your strong and gentle hand as You restore my soul. Help me to not become so "smart" that I continue to find a way out of what You are doing in me. May I simply place my bandaged heart into Your hands and let You do Your beautiful healing work in me. Amen.
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