When God heals you one stitch at a time. Wishing you abundant joy this season.

It is our third Christmas without Julius. The last 2 years we left town. Could not handle the memories. The Lord was gracious and He met us where we went.

As the season came upon us I wondered how God was going to meet me this year. We are not going away and He knows how hard this time of year is for me.

The speaker at our Women's event had just gone through the loss of a loved one and she ended her talk affirming that she was going to celebrate Christmas with even more gratitude this year because she said if not for Christmas, we would not have had the assurance of salvation in Christ and because of this assurance she would see her grandmother again. 

I have to admit I had dwelt on the dark side of the Christmas story every year. And there is a lot of darkness around it. But the point of it is the light that came into the world!

After all the Bible tells us ;

The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light;

those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,

on them has light shone. Is 9:2

I chatted with Shiv Zechariah later and thanked her. I was going to resolve to celebrate with joy and gratitude again for the same reasons.

I pulled out the carols and put out a Christmas wreath on the front door.I decided to pull out my old recipes and do a little baking. 

Every one at home was happy

and

I was so happy that I was happy!! I announced it to everyone who was willing to listen!!

But God was not done yet - He had a greater message than Shiv's for me.

And it came by way of  a "freak" moment this Saturday when a pyrex dish broke in my right hand and cut it deeply.

I have to be honest - my drive to the walk-in clinic with a bleeding bandaged hand was not pretty. I cried and ranted. Why God? I just made a choice to be more grateful to You. To be joyful. What is the point of all this? Why did you take Julius away. He should've been driving me now.

My resolve to have joy this season was being  severely tested.

After a long wait in the clinic, the Dr saw me and said I needed stitches. I tried to give him some alternate treatment ideas and asked if he could not use the glue band aid. Nope! This wound was too deep and in an awkward spot - it needed to be stitched. He had a strange sense of humour and said I could watch and count as he stitched it up.

As I watched I did not realise that God had a deeper lesson for me than I was even looking for or expecting.

This morning I picked up my Bible study from where I had left off before the incident.

The author  Beth Moore explores Jesus statement that He came to heal the wounds of the broken hearted (Isa 61:1). Elsewhere in Exodus 15:26 God refers to Himself as "I am the Lord who heals." She points out that the Hebrew translation of the word "heals" is "raphah" which means to mend by stitching.

Little did I know that as I stared at the Dr I was actually seeing a picture of how the Master Healer - Jehova Raphah does His work.

I was hoping for a quick fix - but the only way to heal this wound was to stitch it.

I remembered my experience at the clinic: The Dr. had drawn a table and placed my hand on it. He drew a chair close to the table and drew my hand to the brightest spot under the lamp. He carefully wiped the wound, He warned me it would hurt and commended me for being stoic. He threaded a strange looking needle and carefully stitched the gaping wound - stitch by painful stitch and then he bandaged it.

Loved One this is the God we worship - the One who is sovereign over all.
I am so saddened these days by the chaos and  horror of this world and as I watch with dear and close friends who are going through very painful circumstances even now, I pray that you will see Our Great God for who He is and submit to Him.
 He orders every detail of our lives - nothing is out of His control. He will allow the "freak" accident so that the wounds in our souls will be healed. He will not give you a band aid when there is need for stitches. Do not let the trials of your life make you bitter. Do not run to the world for comfort - you will get a short term band aid. He loves us so much that He will use everything to draw us back to Himself.

If you hear his call today do not harden your heart.

Wishing you abundant joy this season.