Sunday, April 15, 2007

Leeches and Wounds from Loved Ones


There is a story of a young missionary's first journey in the Amazon. After a long walk through the jungle he reaches a village and notices he has several leeches on his legs. Horrified he begins to grab and rip them off. A wise villager stops him, and allows him to soak his legs in a salt bath. One by one the leeches release and float away. The fangs from the couple he ripped away remain within his skin and fester.

When a loved one hurts us, so often our first response is to lash out or perhaps run away, forcefully and quickly dealing with the wound. The result is like those hard to remove festering fangs. How much better when we allow the saltwater source to have time and place to allow grace and peace to heal us. Sometimes the process is slow, as we sit and soak until the offense falls away, yet that is always the better way.

As an attorney helping families in crisis, day after day, even night after night, people would call me seeking vengeance or freedom or justice from someone who had hurt them. There were things the law could do; I would do those things as appropriate. Still, time and time again I saw the hurt healed not by the process of law, rather time and grace did more good than any court or high priced lawyer.

There is a balm, a greater power, of salt and water, that can heal. Press into that. Today.

No comments: