Splinters - Monday October 11, 2010
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Hebrews 12:11 NIV
It was one of the first warm days of spring. I was walking back from our mailbox and noticed the new growth of our sedum plant by the driveway. Last year's remaining dried stalks were being crowded out by the emerging green, and I couldn't resist taking a moment to clear away the dead debris. I had nearly finished this unplanned project when I jammed part of the stalk into my thumb.
Needless to say, I quickly saw that I needed help. Heading inside, I found my husband Dave who agreed to "do surgery" on my thumb. Locating a needle and a pair of tweezers, Dave proceeded to dislodge the superficial splinter boldly jutting out, but announced that it was "needle time" to remove the deeply planted piece of stalk.
At this point, I could have been very content to call it quits on the surgery. After all, he removed some of the splinter. Maybe it would be all right to let the rest just fester and come to the surface on its own. But I knew that in the long run I would suffer the least over-all discomfort by submitting to the surgeon and letting him remove it all.
And so he did. By willingly offering my thumb to some uncomfortable digging with the needle, I allowed Dave to successfully dislodge the imbedded splinter with a strong tug of the tweezers, much to my relief!
Sometimes going through life we get splinters-hurts that jam their way into our hearts. We have one of two options. We can let them stay and fester, trying to ignore the pain that lodges there, or we can offer our hurting heart to the Great Physician. Letting him "do surgery" can be uncomfortable, but the result is peace.
Submitted by:
Dawn Bovenmyer
Stonebrook Community Church
Ames, Iowa
One-Year Reading Plan:
Jeremiah 16:16-18:23
1 Thessalonians 4:1-5:3
Psalms 81:1-16
Proverbs 25:6-8
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