>Bandages

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When Olivia was fifteen months old, her regularly scheduled well-baby checkup turned into a minor trauma. 

She had to have shots.  Ah, the lovely experience that no parent enjoys.  But, this time was worse.  As we held down Olivia’s little arms and legs, the nurse went to give my baby the first of three injections.  In literally less than a second – and definitely before any of us could respond – Olivia somehow snatched her arm away, grabbed the syringe, and pulled, leaving an inch and a half long gash in her leg! 

The nurses, traumatized though they were, were amazing.  They helped me get Olivia under control and comforted and then called in our wonderful doctor.  He looked at the wound, told me that there was no reason to traumatize Olivia further with stitches, and then remained to help give my poor baby the shots.  After much care and comforting all around, we had the shots given, the wound bandaged with instructions for further care, and goodbyes said all around. 

Unfortunately, that was not the end of our trauma.

It was when it came time to change Olivia’s bandage that I discovered her one real allergy – bandage adhesive.  It’s an allergy she inherits from her father and grandfather that limits her to only one brand of adhesive bandage.  When it came time to change her bandage, I pulled it off to discover that the wound was healing nicely and quickly, but every portion of her skin that had been touched by that adhesive was raw.  It was horrible!

Lately, all of this has come back to me as the bandage brand she – and, in fact, everyone in my family except myself – can use has become difficult to find.  As I have thought about all of this I have also contemplated some spiritual implications.

This world is going to wound us.  Sometimes simply by living in it.  Other times by our knee-jerk reactions to the pain it causes us.  Whatever the case, we get hurt – a fact that is confirmed by even the most casual reading of the Bible. 

But I wonder how often we add to the pain.  How often do we seek healing the world’s way?  We try to put on bandages that we weren’t made to wear.  We were made for heavenly healing.  Earthly bandages can, at best, provide a little surface help.  At worst, though, they can cause wounds greater than the original hurt ever was. 

Our amazing Physician, who is also our most loving and incredibly heavenly Father, has the most perfect healing for our wounds.  Sometimes He uses earthly tools to accomplish the healing, but ultimately it all comes back to His touch. 

May we discard all other “brands” of bandage!