The human body is really amazing – so uniquely and beautifully designed. Every part of us, big and small, plays a role in every daily function. If one system is out of balance, it can affect the whole body. It took a slightly weird and very painful experience to remind me how special my body really is.
This whole ordeal began with a simple broken nail – the shorten version of the story is that my finger ended up getting very infected. My doctor prescribed antibiotics, but that did not make anything better. I could not drive, type, or write. Even showering became a long and laborious process. I had little use of my left hand and arm.
Sleeping was another chore because I had to position my hand just right, so as not to bump it on anything. I am almost embarrassed to admit that my finger made me cry on more than one occasion (the few times I bumped it on something). It was both funny and frustrating how this one finger had so impacted my whole body
After a week, my doctor decided that my finger needed surgery. Nothing major – a simple procedure to get rid of the infection. I won’t go into all the details, but in case anyone is wondering, I do still have my whole finger. Anyway, I marched myself down to the Would Care office to be sliced and diced.
The process of numbing my hand was not a fun experience at all. (I am curious why the needles used for local anesthetic have to be so long) Within 30 minutes, the operation was over and my finger was bound in a cocoon of gauze. I stopped by the pharmacy to fill a prescription for pain medication, and then went home.
That first evening was way too much fun for me to ever repeat again. My finger throbbed so badly, I thought my heart had set up temporary quarters in my fingertip. I spent the next several days with my left hand above my heart to keep the finger from throbbing.
The pain subsided, but I still had to be careful. All told, it would be another six weeks before my finger was healed enough that I could begin to use it again. My finger saga lasted a total of two months. Two months for a finger! That one little finger was much more important than I realized, and it being injured had hampered me.
The Bible calls Christians the body of Christ, with Jesus as the head and the church as the members of the body. Every one of us has an important role to play, regardless of what you may think. It is easy to see yourself as small next to spiritual giants like Oral Roberts and Kenneth Copeland, but God needs you just as much as He needs those men.
Jesus tells a story in Luke 15 of a shepherd who lost one of his sheep. Now he had 100 total, so it would seem rational to forget about the one and concentrate on the 99 that were not lost. But every member of this man’s flock was important to him; he searched for, and found the lamb that was missing.
If one member of the body is faltering, then the body cannot function as effectively. Everyone is necessary and special. Every part of the body is important – from the brain to the pinky toe. Nothing and no one is insignificant.
Pen in Motion 