This article originally appeared at Thrive Moms on February 23, 2017. Christine M. Chappell is a contributing writer for the Thrive Moms blog, the author of “Clean Home, Messy Heart: Promises of Renewal, Hope, and Change for Overwhelmed Moms”, and is currently pursuing her biblical counseling certification.
He split his lip wide open. I couldn’t tell where the bleeding was coming from exactly, but his mouth pooled with red while tears poured from his blue toddler eyes. I wanted to do something to fix him quickly, but we were at a public park. No paper towels. No first aid kit. Nothing available to stop the blood. My sweet boy would hardly let me check to see if all his teeth were there, let alone pull down his lip to assess the damage.
He was busted up, alright. But he wouldn’t let me look.
The next day, the swell of the injury was undeniable. He couldn’t bite into a soft cookie without complaining about the sore. He was hurting, but wouldn’t let me examine where the impact had tore his lip apart. He cried to me in pain, but didn’t allow me to get near the wound. As I consoled him with a gentle embrace, I couldn’t help but think:
Sometimes we’re afraid to know how badly broken we really are.
The Problem with “Okay”
While it may be tempting to spout an “I’m okay, you’re okay!” mentality, God’s Word encourages us not to turn a blind eye to our brokenness and sin. The truth is: we’re all hurting. We ache for love and acceptance. We fester in anger and bitterness. We lament in grief and sorrow. We long for a heavenly hand to wipe away every tear: to fix everything that’s gone wrong in our lives, our world, and our hearts. But moving onward and upward in Christ requires first inward and downward of us.
Thomas à Kempis writes, “Who wages a stronger battle than he who labors to overcome himself? And it should be our daily desire to overcome ourselves, so that we may be made stronger in spirit and go daily from better to better.”
Surrendering our shattered hearts to Christ moves us daily from better to better.
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