Thorns

Welcome to my new view:  a layered gauze and ace wrapped left foot.  Buried beneath, is a 3 inch sutured wound on the bottom and a 2 inch closed incision on top.  It’s been a long journey in one shoe.

It was the first week of school.  As a teacher, I had spent the last three months in flip-flops and sneakers; my days of relaxing in comfy shoes had ended.

Back on my feet all day in work shoes.  So, it’s understandable that when I got home, off came the shoes!  As I stepped onto my kitchen tile, and headed for the fridge, something stopped me in my tracks. 

Ouch!  What had I stepped on?

At first glance, it appeared to be nothing.  I continued my day.  But, each and every step proved to me that something indeed was in my foot.

That night, before bed, I probed and pinched.  Certain that something remained, I was unsuccessful in my excavation!

Days turned to weeks.  The pain came and went, but I still believed something was still under the surface of my skin.

I sought medical help.  After multiple orthopedist and podiatrist visits, inspections of my foot, x-ray, MRI, excision and injection, nothing helped; everything hurt.

Weeks had turned to months.  It was clear that the medical help I had sought, had only worsened my condition.  And don’t think I had given up on my belief that something was in my foot!

I survived walking through each day in one shoe and an orthopedic boot.

I sought a new opinion by an orthopedic surgeon who not only specialized in the foot and ankle, but also used her feet to run the Boston Marathon and conquer the Iron Man.

Surgery now recommended; it was clear I had waited to long.  The orthopedic boot that I wore for months had simply cushioned the injury and minimized the pain.  Pain that had good reason; it proved something was wrong.  Something buried beneath the surface had caused damage deeper than I knew.  Even the advice of “experts” had caused me more harm than good.

No matter the composition of elements that described this foreign object, its constant presence in my foot had caused me great harm.  Simply state, I had a “thorn”.

In 2 Corinthians 12:7, Paul tells us of a “thorn in the flesh” that torments him.  The imagery of a thorn is used repeatedly in the Bible from the very beginning.

And, it is clear from the Bible, that thorns are the result of sin in our lives.

God spoke and created the Garden of Eden a perfect place.  It wasn’t until after Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit and expressed their own will over that of God’s, that thorns appeared.

Thorns became a reality; as a curse of sin in Genesis 3:17-19.

Thorns in the Bible are described as afflictions (2 Cor 12:7), adversities (Prov 22:5) and evils that choke out the truth (Matt 13:7,22).

Thorns appear in many areas of life.  They might be on a vine that keeps us fearful from grasping the beautiful flower or fruit at the end.

They might be buried beneath the skin, shallow or deep, they can cause a needless irritation.  Or, untreated, can cause great destruction.

We need not fear the thorns.  But, rather, need to acknowledge their ability to harm us.  If we seek God’s presence in our lives daily, these thorns will be more apparent.  But we also need to ask God to search our hearts and find that sin which might be buried deep, covered by scars of life, and even justified by our own thinking. 

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”  Psalm 139:23-24

Our hearts can harden and cover our sin.  Our thoughts can justify and we can even falsely rely on others to rationalize how our sin is not harmful.

But the heart knows.  God knows.  We need to confess that sin.  Cleanse it from our heart.  Dig deep and debride the infection inside that causes us frustration, sadness, depression and even anger.  God can bandage us and heal us with His peace.

But only after we acknowledge the thorn (sin) and confess it to Him, who wore them as a crown, as He was crucified.

“…and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head.”  Matthew 27:29

I have confessed.  I am cleansed.  Still, it takes time to heal.  Recovery often takes time.  But, I will trust in Him for this healing.