Slow Down and Heal

Courage, my puppy, is growing. I try to take him for a walk twice a day. He has alot of energy and needs alot of training. One of the things that I am trying to teach him is how to heel, and quite frankly, I am having a difficult time doing so. I walk along, saying firmly to him, "Heel, Courage! Heel!" I must say it 100 times (and I am not exaggerating) each time I take him out for a walk.

But in the last couple of days when I said "Heel!" I heard something else. The cry of my heart, not just my mouth, was yelling to myself "Heal!" -- at least 100 times.

I have been desiring healing for my broken, hurting heart. In the last couple of days, when I said "Heel!" to the dog, I heard something else -- the cry of my heart was yelling out, "Heal!" And I realized how desperately I was wanting for healing to occur.

Then I believe the Lord was nudging my heart to hear "In order to heal, Andrea, you need to do for me just what you'd like this dog to do for you. You need to slow down and walk in step with me."

Even though the words are entirely different (other than how they sound) I began to see alot of similarities in "healing." Courage often wants to run ahead. So do I. Sometimes he is difficult and keeps his head down, instead of walking with it upright, looking forward. So do I. He often wants to do go wherever he wants to go. So do I. Heeling doesn't seem to come naturally to him, and healing doesn't seem to come naturally to me.

It is not a perfect analogy and breaks down after that, but I do know that I have some things to learn. I want to run ahead and hurry up the process of healing, but God says slow down. Sometimes, I have my head down when I need to be keeping my chin up and keeping my eyes focused on the Lord. Sometimes, I want to do what I want to do, but God wants me to walk in step with Him, along side of Him, and trust Him in the process. He knows how I should walk and where I should go. In that, comes the healing. I can not heal myself, only God can. It is all a part of His grace in my life, not a product of something I do naturally.

In the New Testament we read of the great Healer, Jesus. The Psalmist speaks of Him, as well. "He heals up the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in His unfailing love" (Psalm 147:3,10-11).

And so God whispers to me in my daily life, even the walking of the dog. "Slow down, dear one whom I love with an unfailing love. Walk by me. I will show you the way, and will heal your wounds. Just walk with me." May you know this to be true for you, too, as you desire God to heal the wounds in your life, dear reader. Healing can not be hurried and it is not controlled by our strength or our ability. Only the One True Healer can change our hearts and make them whole again.