What an Injury Has Taught Me

About a week ago, I was cleaning a faucet in our mansion while crooning one of my favorite hymns when my right hand hit a sharp projection on the wall adjacent to the faucet. No sooner had the right hand hit the sharp projection than I felt some pain on one of my fingers of the hand. But I ignored the pain and continued cleaning the faucet, all the while hoping that the pain on the finger was just a minor abrasion on the skin.

But alas! I was stunned when I noted blood oozing out at the tip of the ring finger of my right hand. Oh my, the damn projection had lacerated the finger!

Blood kept oozing out of the finger as I proceeded to other chores I was doing in the mansion. I could see traces of blood on the rag I was using to clean the mansion. Being the prayerful young man that I am, I asked God in prayer to heal the cut on the ring finger.

Thanks to the clotting mechanism that God hardwired in my blood circulatory system, I did stop bleeding twenty minutes or so after the damn projection had lacerated my right hand ring finger. And once I was done with my chores in the mansion, I took one good look at the lacerated finger and noted that the cut, though not deep, could show the inner tissues of the finger.

A day later, I began feeling some pain on the finger while washing my clothes and playing the piano. Well, it wasn't an excruciating pain but it was discomforting nonetheless. The pain led me to request God once again to do His thing and heal the finger.

God did answer my prayer given the way the pain eventually subsided. For the past three days, I have been pain-free even though the cut is still visible. But I am believing the cut will heal without leaving a scar on the finger. (Well, I don't mind having a scar so long as I am not in pain.)

Today, I reflected on that cut I had about a week ago and the experiences it engendered in my rather interesting life. And from my reflections, I had a few insights that I thought wise to share with you, my beloved reader.

First and foremost, having the cut has made me realize that in life, too, we get wounded emotionally such as when someone speaks rudely to us, steals our property or criticizes us harshly. And I am thinking that when wounded emotionally, perhaps it is best for us to take our hurts to God, asking Him to heal us - just as I did when a sharp projection on a wall lacerated my right hand ring finger.

I believe that when we take our hurts to God, He will not only heal us but also restore in us the joy of His salvation. What's more, He can teach us a number of valuable lessons that will help us deal with the next challenge.

The second insight the cut taught me came from the way the finger healed. I had no control whatsoever on how the finger was healing itself. My work was to just eat, drink and be merry, and bingo! The body would do the curing.

Just in the same way I had no control over how my finger would get healed, in life, too, we are sometimes clueless on how we should overcome our challenges and live the life of our dreams. And I am thinking that when in such a predicament, we should just entrust our lives to God, read His Word and follow His Commandments, and bingo! He will make a way where there seems to be no way.

The third insight the cut gave me came from the way I remembered the other times I was injured physically, such as when I stubbed my toe in 2014 while jumping over a wooden gate. Remembering that all those past injuries healed themselves gave me hope that the cut on my right hand ring finger would also get healed. And it is getting healed for sure.

In life, too, when going through challenges, perhaps it is wise of us to recall the other challenges we went through in the past. And once we realize we survived those challenges and came out stronger, we can summon the hope and faith we need to deal with our current challenges.

And finally, the last insight the cut taught me is to be thankful for my health. I love my body but I do sometimes forget what a blessing it is to be incarnate in such a magical biological masterpiece. From today onwards, I will strive to be ever thankful for having a healthy, pain-free body. So help me God.

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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed this story on what a recent injury taught me, you might also enjoy another one I wrote more than two years ago on "Contentment".