I did think about the blister on the day it happened and wondered if there was some spiritual lesson to be had from it. But nothing came to mind so.....
And then yesterday I was in Belfast with the boys and ended up walking for miles because I hadn't planned what I was doing or where I was going so ended up covering alot more ground than I really needed to. And I hadn't taken into account that I was wearing my boots. Which were rubbing my toes. I could feel my feet starting to get sore as I traipsed across town and by the time I got back to the car I was pretty sure Id have blisters. Sure enough, on getting home and removing socks I found four whopping ones, two on the left foot and two on the right, on the tops of my toes. Ouch.
Having had five blisters in a week ( weird) I surmise that the Lord wants to talk to me about them 😊 As usual Im thinking as Im typing....
Blisters are formed because damage is occurring and the body is trying to protect itself from harm. It is amazing really when you think about it that the body can react so quickly to a threat and make the serum fluid within seconds and send it to the affected area, and the skin can stretch to accommodate this protective barrier of fluid. God has designed us to heal ourselves. And if we are the body of Christ then maybe we, the church, are designed to heal ourselves too. When one part of the body comes under attack or threat of injury do we amass to surround and protect the injured part? Do we form a protective covering over those who are fragile and vulnerable? Can we allow ourselves to be stretched for a time so that the wounded person is given time to heal?
Recently Keith and I have been involved in praying for a few people who are struggling with various things. Rather than just pray ourselves, Keith has felt strongly that we need to get a group of people involved in each situation. We have gone to homes and spent a good few hours praying ' properly' into things which have been hurting the individuals and families concerned. It started when we took a group of people to pray for a herd of cattle which had been dying for no apparent reason over a number of weeks. We went to the cow shed and stood in the dark and took authority over whatever was killing the cows. They stopped dying . We then went to the house of a family whose daughter was suffering from acute anxiety and depression. Lots of us went. We sang, we talked, we prayed, we listened to God. The family was super blessed. The very next day there was a significant turn around for the young person concerned. Not a miracle, but progress. Next we went to pray for a guy who had slipped a disc and was flat on his back in agony and unable to work. He didnt get healed - but what did happen was that for the first time he felt confident to pray out in public himself - and he prayed so eloquently and was so released and freed in doing so that something shifted in his walk with Jesus. It has been different groups of people every time, but it has been the body coming together to stand around something sore and hurting to provide some protection and shelter and care and love.
We have perhaps been God's blisters 😊
Who do you know who is sore just now? Perhaps it it you who has been chaffed and rubbed up the wrong way and irritated? Or maybe burned? Is someone you know walking in ill-fitting shoes? Perhaps it is time for someone to come alongside and gently suggest that they need to go up a size - step out of what they are currently in and into something new.
The blister doesnt last long. The body heals itself quickly. My poor toes will probably not be puffy and sore by tomorrow. But I wont be wearing my boots again for a while. And next time I go for a schlep around town I shall wear something more comfortable!!
( If you are squeamish about toes...look away now!! )
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| burned finger - blister removed |
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| post shopping toes :( |
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