Neosporin is a wonderful thing. With kids or grandkids around, it's almost a household
necessity. This healing ointment is terrific for putting on a scrape or minor cut to help
the wound heal quicker, and over the years I've probably used close to a hundred
tubes of it.
The healing process is an interesting thing, how the body can in many ways simply
heal itself. Sometimes it takes a skilled professional or surgery or some outside force
to assist in that healing, but most of our minor bumps and scrapes just seem to heal all
on their own.
When my daughter was four years old, she fell while holding a glass mug and severed
the end of her index finger. This was beyond Neosporin. It required a skilled physician
(for whom I'm forever grateful!) and daily trips to the doctors office for nearly three
weeks to be sure the reattached digit was healing correctly.
By the third week, when he removed the bandages it was horrible. It was black and
had a sickening smell, and my heart broke in half when the doctor told me it would
have to be removed to save the rest of her finger. She was too young to really
understand, but I had visions of proms and dates with fancy dresses and manicures
with long nails, on all but one finger. It might seem like a small thing to some, but it
truly broke my heart.
I begged him to wait just a few more days to be sure and he said, "Bring her to the
office tomorrow. If it's not miraculously better, it has to come off."
Miraculously better. That's a tall order. But that night, after putting her to bed, I knelt
at her bedside and prayed fervently that God would save her finger. I asked for a
miracle, because I knew that nothing short of a miracle would do. I reminded God in
my prayers that I knew he loved my daughter even more than I loved her, and I begged
and pleaded with him. Fervent prayer. Afterwards, I was spent, physically and
emotionally, and went to bed.
At 10 a.m. the next morning, we were required to be back at the doctors office for a
final review and when he removed the bandage from her hand, he and I both stood
there with our mouths wide open. The damaged end of her finger was starch white!
The doctor stuttered for a moment and then he turned to me with his wide eyes and
asked, "What did you DO?"
I just smiled and said, "I prayed." God answered my prayer and healed this baby's
hand. Today she is 21 years old and although the end of this finger remains slightly
deformed, it is at least complete.
Now, sometimes we pray for miracles and they just don't come. I don't know why God
gives us miracles at some times and not at others, and it's not for me to question His
divine authority. I know my job is to simply trust that all things work for good for those
who love Him. Sometimes that's a pretty tough job.
When my mother was dying with cancer, I prayed for miraculous healing for her as
well. This time, His answer was, "No." After a six month battle, she was gone from us.
My heart broke and my spirit crumbled as I felt a part of me had died with her.
Now, I was the one in need of miraculous healing. Neosporin couldn't heal my broken
heart. Skilled professionals couldn't heal my broken spirit. No surgery, pill, or shot
would make me feel any better. Sometimes, it takes much more than anything this
world can offer to heal a wound that deep.
It takes a divine heart to heal a broken one.
Spend many hours in prayer with a loving God who grieves when we grieve, and who
knows our every sorrow even before we utter one word. Your heart will heal, as mine
did, from the inside out, with divine intervention. God loves you and wants you to
simply put your trust in Him. I can honestly tell you this because I've been there and
He has healed my heart. I still miss my mom greatly, and the feeling of loss will always
be there. But He has performed a miraculous healing over time, and now I can laugh
again and be joyful knowing there will come a day when I will see her again in our
Heavenly home. I pray you will find that Peace as well.
May God truly bless you and bring you peace. ~ Ferna
Healing a Broken Heart © Ferna Lary Mills
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A Christian Grief Ministry
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