healing and forgiveness

The funny thing about healing is that something healed still holds the memory of its former brokenness. 

when a bone is fractured, a cast is sometimes applied to bring everything back into proper alignment …. if things are way out of whack, surgery is required to forcefully align the broken pieces ….

whether surgery or plaster, there is restricted motion and pain for sometimes a significant period of time …. there is a weight to a plaster and an open wound that follows surgery …. both require a change in lifestyle and care ..

even after healing, the affected bones still hold the memory of their brokenness …. perhaps some restricted motion, perhaps some weather related discomfort, perhaps a visible scar ….

and so it is with forgiveness ….. even with healing there can be residual pain, a hesitancy in moving forward, an inner scar ….

and we have a choice, always …… to focus on the memory of the break, or focus on the healing that has taken place …..

the memory comes with the weight of the cast, the open wound, the moment of trauma …. this memory can restrict us, introduce its own infection into a constantly reopened wound ….

or

we can live a life of thanks for all the healing that has taken place, for a life without weight, without infection …..