On Wednesday night, after all activities at church were finished, Bryan was riding his longboard in the church parking lot. He was doing what he does every Wednesday night, just passing the time while waiting on Jeff and I. As I turned the corner towards the doors to leave, I saw our friend William walking Bryan inside.
I had no idea what was hurting, but I knew it was bad.
Bryan was as white as a ghost and shaking. I thought immediately, "he's either going to throw up or pass out", and I went to him. He was holding his left arm to himself and obviously in tremendous pain. He simply said, "I heard it pop. Something is bad". I knew then; he had broken a bone. There was no moving that arm; it just hurt too much. We loaded him into the car and headed to the emergency room.
An hour and a couple of x-rays later, it was confirmed. Bryan's clavicle (collar bone) was snapped in half. We were referred to the orthopedic surgeon to evaluate. He was put in a sling and a wrap to immobilize his arm for the night, and we were sent home. The next day, the orthopedic surgeon graciously told us surgery was not necessary (thank you Lord!), and Bryan was placed in a harness for an unknown length of time.
It's hard to watch your kids in pain, isn't it? There isn't much I dislike more than that!! But something struck me as Bryan and I were talking on the way home from the hospital. When I asked him what had happened, he said, "Everything was fine, then there was this tiny little rock that got stuck under my wheel. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground". That's when it hit me; this is exactly the same thing that happens to us with sin.
I know that in my life, sometimes things are going fine, and then I give in to a temptation, take my eyes off of Christ, think I can handle things on my own.... and the next thing I know, I'm on the ground. And I'm hurt. And, because He's my Abba- my Daddy, God hurts too. It pains Him to see me hurting. And like any good, caring and faithful parent, He lovingly and gingerly picks me up and takes care of me.
The cool thing about God is that His touch is immediately healing. There is no harness needed for 8-12 weeks with His touch. I can't do that for Bryan (oh, how I wish I could!), but God does that for His children all the time. He offers forgiveness and sanctification immediately and free, just for the taking. But unless we choose to stay focused on Him, we will fall again.
What rocks are in your path today? Are you rolling toward them completely unaware of their presence? Are you looking the other way, thinking that you'll avoid them somehow? Or are you fixing your eyes on Jesus? Listen to this: "Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us". (Hebrews 12:1)
Is there something you need to "throw off" today?
