I do want to take a moment and reach out in hopes of putting on a little ointment. This is not an all-encompassing list of the possible wounds, but a hope that you will find a small part to apply at this time. A wound hurts in the moment and has to heal to become the scars that show our resilience, growth, and survival! I hope to find the right words to convey what I am trying to say.
Wounds of Loneliness and Invisibility
There's a powerful quote in a book I've been reading lately: The Invisible Woman by Nicole Johnson. It states that: "You may feel invisible in the world, but you are not invisible to God." This has been on my mind a lot with everything going on. As we are distanced physically and even emotionally from others, it's easy for a person to feel alone and overlooked. It's easy to feel as if you're doing all the reaching out and in desperate need for others to reach in. While daily tasks become repetitious and keeping house with a house full of individuals is challenging, to say the least, it's important to remember that no matter how small the task, God is aware of you. Spend a moment being still and remembering that He knows and sees you! That your invisible acts are seen and known by the Creator of the entire Universe.
Wounds of Worry, Fear, and Anxiety
These are deep wounds, and ones that often feel 'open' and never truly scarred over in this life. I believe otherwise. Yes, new worries can open new wounds. Current anxiety can feel much like former anxieties. Fears we're facing now can seem very much like fears faced in the past. However, each new trial is built upon and affected by the trials that we have gone through before. The other day in a conversation with a family member, we were talking about the trials we're facing and realizing that our points of views are quite different even though our personalities are similar in so many ways. The Spirit came strong for a moment and I had the phrase come into my mind: "We are the sum of our experiences!"
I think this is vital to realize as everyone's new wounds are built upon old scars, everyone's past experiences affect their perspective of all that is happening, and our experiences and knowledge guide us in the decisions that we make.
A scripture that I have clung through in my life is found in Isaiah 46:10: "Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." I tend to think of Isaiah in simpler terms and, for me, a large part of this verse comes down to: "God knows the end from the beginning." He is over all and my fears, worries, and anxiety are swallowed up in Him.
My past experiences have guided my reactions and prompted specific thoughts at this time. God knew I would lose my son, but He knew I would be stronger for the loss. He knew I would bear the scars, but that my scars would help heal the wounds of others. Your wounds now will help form who you will become later and the scars from your current trials will guide you down the path that God has laid out for you. Your scars will give you the ability to heal the wounds of others as well.
One day all our scars will be healed, one day we will stand whole next to those we love who will be whole as well. Until that day, don't you give you. Press onward, and don't be afraid of the wounds that will come. Don't be ashamed of the scars that tell that your story. They make you who you are and give you the ability to help others.
These wounds that we carry are part of us. They are often invisible to others, but we are not invisible, nor are our wounds invisible to God. He sees them all, he knows them all. He sees the scars that remain, and knows the scars that are forming. He sees how they strengthen us and refine us into the person we want to be. The one that endures to the end, the one that loves unconditionally, the one that sees another's wounds and knows how to succor it because we have felt it.
Don't be afraid of the wounds now--they're the scars of tomorrow!
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