"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." Matthew 5:14-15

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it." Matthew 13:45-46

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Stitches and Sin

In December I had some skin cancer removed from the side of my face. A week later I had the stitches removed. Things appeared to be healing nicely for the first couple weeks or so. But then I started to notice soreness and pain. I went back to using antibiotic ointment to see if I could get it to heal. My scar from surgery is right by my ear, so it is not in an easy position to see, even with a mirror.

Today I was finally able to see a little better of why my face was sore. I thought I would perhaps see infection because of the way it had been hurting. To my surprise, I saw two pieces of thread sticking out of the side of my face. One piece I was able to pull out with a tweezers, but the other would not budge. I called the doctor's office to find out what I should do.

It turns out that what I saw were actually two internal stitches that were from surgery. For whatever reason my body was rejecting the stitches and was trying to dispel them. It will take some more time before the final stitch works its way out from under my skin.

As I thought about my struggles with these stitches, I was reminded of how easily sin entangles us as well. Often those sins may be hidden so that others may not see what is going on in our hearts. But God always sees and knows. Like my stitches that festered beneath the surface, so sin destroys us. It turns our heart away from fully depending on God. Do you have any stitches or sin that need to be addressed in your life? Why not do so today?!

1 comment:

Marilyn in Mississippi said...

I had something similar happen to me when I had a skin cancer cut out several years ago. It was on the back side of my shoulder. I could feel it but not see it without a mirror. After, as you said yours was, it had time to have healed up it was still sore. One day while showering my bath cloth caught on something. I got my mirror and a bright light and then saw the stitches. Ended up having to go back to the doctor to have it (or them) taken out.

Good post and good comparison.

God bless,
Marilyn
p.s. please pray for my family this week. one of my sisters passed away this morning from cancer. thanks!