When I think about how lucky I am to have a paramedic like that in my Beloved God, I cannot help but wonder.
The other day one of my little nieces broke her wrist. And she broke it quite badly. It was such a bad break that the wrist was deformed by the break and the bone was noticeably displaced. Because of the pain and fear as a result of this injury, my little niece required a lot of support while she waited for help.
She sat quietly in a chair and waited with her mother, in pain and shock until the paramedics arrived. When they finally arrived – this occurred during peak hour so there was a bit of a wait – the first thing they did was to administer pain relief for her. They needed to ensure she was stabilised and wanted to make sure that she was able to be comfortable enough that she would not be scared.
After administering pain relief, the paramedics then assessed the injury and stabilised it. That means that they had to put it on a board and wrap it up so that the bones would not move around while she was being transported to hospital. While they were doing this they spoke to her constantly. They explained what would be happening each step of the way, they made notes to understand the extent of the damage and her condition. Finally – after an hour of work at the site where the injury had occurred, the paramedics were ready to transport this little girl to the hospital. And they did this calmly and unemotionally, while she was drugged up on pain relief and relatively comfortable.
After arriving at the hospital, they tried to set the bone, and were unable to do it while she was awake and so they scheduled surgery for the next day, quickly re-set the bone, put it in a cast, and sent her home.
And watching this little girl recover from an experience like that, I am reminded of prayer. You see, when we sin it is like breaking a bone – only in a spiritual sense. There is an awful lot of damage under the skin that we might not really be able to realise and it causes an awful lot of pain and needs an awful lot of effort to recover.
And just as there are things that can be done to numb the pain of a broken bone, so too can things occur to numb the pain of sin. One of those things is our Earthly life. We do not experience the full extent of our pain until we die and then – if we have not atoned for our sins – we are going to feel that un-numbed pain. And just as the paramedics spoke to my little niece constantly to reassure her and help her to manage the pain and consequences of her broken wrist, so too does God speak to me constantly through prayer.
And when I think about how lucky I am to have a paramedic like that in my Beloved God, I cannot help but wonder. For He talks me through my misery – even though it is to Him that I have directed the pain…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
Comments