Deep Waters

I stared at the needle on the table, waiting for the doctor to come back in the room. It took a few minutes longer than I expected, so I snapped a quick photo and sent it to my boyfriend, along with an appropriate caption and wide-eyed emoji, “Soo... this is about to happen.”

I got a quick response back, “Be brave! That should help.”

He knew I had been dealing with a nagging pain in my wrist for a few months now. So even though I wasn’t excited about the prospect of being stuck with a needle, I knew he was right. In the end, it would help.

I looked away as the doctor made small talk to distract me. It was over quickly, but he warned me it might feel weird for a couple of hours. As I drove back to work, my wrist began to ache. I thought this was supposed to make it better. In that moment, I remembered a line from one of my favorite Brisish TV shows, Call The Midwife, “Pain can be a sign that a wound is healing.”

When I’m in pain, whether it’s physical or emotional, I usually assume it’s because I’m doing something wrong. And maybe sometimes that’s true. But also? Maybe the ache is evidence that there is deeper healing going on. Something is happening underneath the surface I can’t see.

In Isaiah 43:2, God says to His people who are in way over their head, “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.”

What if the deep water I want to avoid at all costs, because it hurts, might actually part of the healing? If I’m honest, sometimes that seems a little harsh. But if I want to be well... maybe it's worth it in the end. 

Pain can be a sign that a wound is healing.

In the midst of the deep waters of physical pain, relational brokenness, and all the wounds we carry, we have a Savior who promises, “I will be with you.” And really, isn’t that what we need more than anything? Someone to stay with us on the long road to healing? We may still feel the pain of the deep water, but His Presence keeps us from drowning in a sea of hopelessness.