The Wound That Won't Heal

The Wound that won’t Heal

Cover up the pain

Hide the scar

Take the medication

Or you won’t get far

Don’t think, just drink

Don’t cry, just drive

Do whatever you can

To numb the ache inside

“Do what feels right” they say

So, if it hurts, it must be wrong

Avoid pain at all costs

That way you’ll look strong

But I can’t

‘cause I’m not

I won’t

‘cause I’m done

Done believing that feelings

Determine what’s “right”

Done believing that pain

Should be reduced to none

Pain must be felt

Feelings must not win

Ignoring the ache

Only leads to sin

To cover up the pain is to live in fear

To hide the scar is to avoid the mirror

Suffering is not the enemy

To mourn is not to be weak

Pleasure is not the prize

Perseverance gives us peace

So, rip off the Band-Aid

Bare the scar

Unmask the ugliness

Or you won’t get far

Pain must be felt

Fear must not win

The wound exposed

Is when healing begins

“Why won’t it heal?” I asked myself. I wasn’t referring to the bruises on my arm from basketball or the cut on my knee. I wanted to know why I still hurt soul-deep. “I’ve forgiven,” I claimed. “I’m fearless,” I said. “I’ve had closure,” I lied. But my heart knew the truth inside. The truth that it was fear itself that kept me from facing the pain. And if I didn’t have courage to face the pain, how could I claim I’ve had closure; moreover, how could I claim to have forgiven?

“Why won’t it heal?” a girl asked me. She was referring to the cut on her knee. The one that she kept covering with bandaid after bandaid. 

“Because you keep covering it,” I said. “Take the bandaid off so the air can get to it and heal.”

“But it hurts,” she argued. “What if I brush it on something and it stings? What if I get dirt in it? What if ends up being an ugly scar?”

“Fear can’t heal a wound, sweetheart. It might have to hurt more before it heals.”

“Because you keep covering it,” His answer floated back to me about my wound that was soul-deep. “Take the bandaid off.”

“But it hurts. I don’t want to look at it. It’s an ugly reminder. If I can’t see it, I don’t feel the pain.”

“Fear can’t heal your wound, sweetheart.”

“I’m not afraid,” I argue. “I’m just… tired. Tired of that wound being reopened. Tired of the way you won’t heal it. It feels fine when it’s covered.”

“Just because it feels good, doesn’t mean it’s healed. Likewise, just because it hurts, doesn’t mean I’m not the Healer.”

There’s only one wound that won’t heal. It’s the one we can’t face. The one we cover, the one we run from. Perhaps that’s why she’s a runner. Perhaps that’s why I’m a hider. Perhaps that’s why we go through the motions of life, being led by emotions, being tempted to numb any ache. I ache for a world unmasked. Undivided. Unnumbed.

What Band-Aid do you need to rip off today?

So, rip off the Band-Aid

Bare the scar

Unmask the ugliness

Or you won’t get far

Pain must be felt

Fear must not win

The wound exposed

Is when healing begins

-->