Heal

Heal

He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.

MY SISTER WAS SICK AGAIN. No one had said anything, but I knew it was true. I’d been studying abroad in England, touring castles and reading Jane Austen, visiting pubs for dinner and living as a carefree twentysomething —but a part of me knew that, at home, something was very wrong.

Katrina’s breast cancer was first diagnosed when I was sixteen and she was twenty-two. Over the years, I’d prayed for healing as I watched her fight an on-again, off-again battle with the disease. But though I communicated with my family via letters, emails, and occasional phone calls, they said very little. The lack of information spoke volumes, and as the months passed, I felt fear and dread take root. Not knowing felt worse than knowing possibly could.

When I returned home, my fears were realized: she was sick, worse than she had been in a long time, with lengthy hospital visits that had increased in frequency. Though I knew my family had been trying to protect me and let me enjoy my adventures, inside I felt betrayed. How could I live such a carefree existence when my dear sister was suffering half a world away? How could they not have told me the truth? Though well-meaning in intention, the pain cut deep.

My family withheld the truth because they loved me and wanted to protect me, but as a young adult I interpreted their silence as a judgment on my ability to handle hard news and cope with challenges. Their secret-keeping damaged our relationship, but my allowing my secret hurt to fester didn’t help. Once that hurt was laid bare, God had room to heal me. We may often think of healing in the physical sense, but healing does not always arrive as a medical miracle; oftentimes, it’s in the quieter recesses of our hearts and minds that God binds our wounds and heals the hurts we’ve experienced. Though it’s inevitable that we’ll be bruised by life’s unpredictability, his healing touch offers a balm to wounded hearts seeking solace.

Lord, thank you that your love offers hope and healing when we experience loss or betrayal. Help us to seek your comfort when secrets and unexpected knowledge arise. Amen.

-Kristin

One Good Step: What secret hurts are you holding close? Ask God to heal you with his touch.