2. What of old, deep, unhealed wounds?

It took me fifteen years to realize there were questions begging to be asked from the beautiful message I received that clear day in 2009. (The original thought was essentially this: we don’t have to know how to heal because we were made to heal, and we will heal if we keep contaminants from infecting an emotional wound.)

A few months ago, I was kneeling beside my bed, praying for people who really needed prayers (siblings, and children, and in-laws, and friends) when the questions spilled out:  What if a wound does become infected? What if a wound has continued and is now deep and old? What if that which we thought to be history, or never knew about at all, is secretly alive and festering and spitting out poison below the facade of a little scar? What can be done to heal those kinds of emotional wounds?

There couldn’t be a simple response to these questions, I was sure. But, I needed to ask; I wanted so much to know! 

Almost immediately a new thought came. It was simple:  When a wound is old and deep, the whole body has been affected and the whole body needs healing.  

Yes! I knew that was true. It made sense to me. The thought invited me to ponder. A person who is wounded and still in pain begins to think and see and hear and move and function differently in hopes of avoiding repeated injury and more pain. He or she may begin to use some parts of the body more and others less. Over time, some muscles will grow disproportionately large, others will atrophy, joints will be stressed and cause new pains of their own, glands will produce too much of one hormone and too little of another, organs will be over-taxed, memories will be distorted, perceptions altered, habits engrained. Indeed, the whole body needs help. 

I don’t pretend to be a healer. I am not an expert. I’m a sister, a daughter, a mother, a wife, a friend. I’m a teacher, a writer, a composer. I’m one who has struggled with mental health. I’m one who has watched others struggle with mental health. I’m one, like billions of others, who care about those who suffer. I see so many people desperately sad and discouraged, depressed. I want to do something. I hope I can reach a few of those in need of reaching. 

I have learned that when people ask for help, when they actively seek truth, they are more willing to glean truth wherever they search. It doesn’t have to come from a professional. Truth can be found in an untold number of places. I hope what I have to share will be helpful to you as one of your sources of truth as you seek to heal.

I invite you to join with me for a year dedicated to healing what needs healing in our lives, so we can renew hope, especially in ourselves. Let us look a little way into the future, just one year from now, and envision ourselves healthier mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

READ POST #3