Advent Day 4 - Alters

Don't build an alter over your injury....how often have I done this. Covering my wounds to prevent further damage only to find that covering the unhealed spaces made them a breeding ground for infection. Unforgivness, pride, self pity, anger....all growing at an alarming rate when hidden from sight and left to fester. The only way to clean out the spaces that cause us such pain is to flush them out. Expose them to the light and let them breathe. Sometimes that require opening ourselves up to more pain. Pain in remembering, pain in sharing truthful words that make our hearts vulnerable to wounds again. But in this we can find that the pain of healing is much less than the pain of holding on. In the letting go we can open our hearts and hands to the blessings that can only come when we let Him in.  Sometimes He holds the revelations of things until we are stronger.  Sometimes the confusion of the way He works causes us to guard these painful places. But in all this, when we lay it out before Him, He becomes our covering.  And realizing that the space, the quiet is for our own good.  To let us heal without further injury while our bruised and battered souls and emotions allow Him to meet us where we are.  Thankful.