Confronted with Muck

When a wound is ugly and gross, red and swollen, and filled with muck… What do you do?

You can simply stop looking at it. But we all know that won’t make it go away.

You can imagine everyone gets cuts and bruises and we all live with it. But that won’t last long, because it doesn’t take the pain away. And the purpose of pain is to get your attention.

You can cover it up with clothes or weak bandages and ignore it for as long as possible, hiding it from yourself and others. But you know the blood will run down, smear on things, and your friends and family will see it, smell it, and notice your attempts at concealing it.

Or, you can study the trauma, diagnose the problem, and dig out and remove the muck, despite the pain. A tear or two may swell in your eyes, but the temporary agony will prove itself worth the work because wounds heal. Your body is designed to restore itself. It won’t naturally expel that junk, though; it will learn to live with it, and new skin will grow around it. So we must assist the natural by intervening with supernatural help, cleaning the wound and treating it as best as we can. The dirt, the gravel, the glass has to be handled gently but thoroughly.

I’ve spent loads of energy, time, and emotion staring at wounds and mourning their debilitating effects on myself and others, even after asking forgiveness. I’ve looked at them from every angle and felt every emotion – empathy, sadness, anger, disappointment, apathy. I have overshot humility and ended up in the land of immobilization, where my mistakes and harsh words replay continuously. A festering wound is unenviable.

But in a world that lives with its cuts and abrasions, there’s something special, innocent, and healthy about being sick of your infections. It’s a good sign when there’s no compromise between pride and humility. It’s a good sign that there’s no compromise when it comes to health and well-being, joy and love. If you’re so tired of doing what’s wrong, then you must be doing something right! A hate of a wound is a good thing. But how will you treat it? Staring at it only does so much.

Consult the Great Physician. We can only do so much healing on our own.