Relieving Old Hurts

Have you ever sprained a muscle or broken a bone?  Sprained or torn ligaments can actually be worse than a broken bone.  Both heal over time.  However, weather changes can bring back the old pain.  You may still experience pain flashes in cold weather, even with healed injuries.  The question is – what causes the pain in an old orthopedic injury when the weather changes?  One reason is increased nerve sensitivity.  Orthopedic damage creates tension in the nervous system, making the nerves super sensitive.  A drop in temperature stimulates the nerves, and the body responds, trying to balance the nerves’ reactions.  This response causes the old hurts to hurt again. 

Do you have this problem?  An old hurt still hurts.  What caused your hurt?  There are many kinds of painful events and abuse; verbal, emotional, physical, and spiritual abuse creates deep wounds.  With physical injuries, different wounds require unique care and nursing.  The damage doctored with a bandage, a cast, or even a sling.  A burn or infection may need lancing to heal from the inside out.  Unless those wounds heal correctly, they will continue to hurt.

The book Johnny Tremain provides the story of a young man whose hand is severely burned and bandaged incorrectly.  His injury leaves his hand crippled.  The book walks you through his struggles, both physical and psychological.  At the end of Johnny Tremain, his wound is healed by a skilled Doctor and friend who opens his wounds, allowing them to heal correctly.

Are your sores from abuse or harsh words?  These offenses create gashes in our psyche that need healing.  In his book The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis notes, “Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear.  The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say, ‘My tooth is aching’ than to say, ‘My heart is broken.’”  

Many of us stuff, into our physiological depths, the lacerations made by injuries from prior events.  You may have thought that the painful words thrown at you as a child went in one ear and out the other ear.  When in fact, the comments went straight to your heart–lodged deeply but causing an infection that now comes to the surface as bitterness.  Or, physical abuse that doesn’t visibly show but is festering under the surface.  For example, years of being told you don’t measure up damaged your self-image.  

We all experience hurts.  The question is, how are you handling it?  Are you ignoring the pain?  Have you denied the damage the events caused?  Do you see yourself in Mr. Lewis’s comments; you can say your leg aches but can’t admit the emotional pain you are suffering?

Does Mr. Lewis have a solution?  Of course, he does, “When pain is to be born, a little courage helps more than much knowledge, a little human sympathy more than much courage, and the tincture of the love of God more than all.”  To restate this, we heal when we have the courage to move from denial to acknowledge the pain, with the freedom to ask friends for help, and with the willingness to accept that God’s love heals our wounds.

To overcome our pain, we need to release those who hurt us.  When we forgive, we set the captive free.  The captive is not the person who inflicted the hurt, but you, the victim.  Forgiving is not stating that what happened was okay.  Forgiving says, “Lord, I give it to you and choose to leave it with you.”  Healing comes by releasing.  Yes, this may not be easy, but it is worth it.  Instead of going through life with wounds that continue to hurt, there are scars.  Scars that tell a story but are healed wounds. 

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me (The Messiah), because He has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor.  He has sent me to announce release (pardon, forgiveness) to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed (downtrodden, bruised, crushed by tragedy) Luke 4:18 (Amplified)    

Cheryl Gowin and Dennis Gowin.  Call us with your feedback, comments, issues, or questions; our phone number is 434-808-2637.