Recovery Time

A person’s wisdom yields patience.

Proverbs 19:11

Once, on a wipeout down a ski slope, I ruptured major ligaments in my knee and needed emergency surgery. When the doctor took that first post-op look, he warned me that my leg would look abnormal due to the swelling. Still, I was shocked.

“Don’t panic,” he said. “This is perfectly normal, given the trauma of the surgery. Give it time, and your leg will return to normal. I should warn you, though, that the pain of the recovery will be much greater than the pain of the injury.” Not what I wanted to hear.

When life hurts us, we want the quick fix, instant newness, wholeness completely restored. We want God to take care of the problem—yesterday.

But most of the time, damage to the heart doesn’t happen overnight, and neither does its healing.

Sometimes, wounds seem to heal over, but then we realize they were never cleaned well enough, and the infection was merely hidden. Other times, scar tissue remains that influences how life in general and relationships in particular are unfolding for you. Total healing might require that we go deep into painful places, so I encourage you to rely on the wisdom of patience. He is healing you.

Lord, please give me patience with the healing process. I’m so grateful You will sustain and encourage me during my recovery.