The Lesson of the Sprained Finger

On March 19, 2010, approximately 20 minutes after having arrived in Hot Springs, Arkansas for the weekend and while visiting the Hot Springs National Park, one of my shoes went flying through the air and I fell down some stairs. Apparently, my shoes were a little too slick on the bottom for the well worn stairs I had been down many times before. In my right hand was a camera which, thankfully, did not get dropped or banged. My left hand aimed downward in an attempt to catch myself. I immediately knew some type of damage had occurred, especially when the throbbing and swelling started. After waiting out the weekend, a local physician confirmed a case of a sprained finger. One sprained finger should not be so bad one may believe. Actually, I was amazed at how important one finger can be. The pain and stiffness, as it only bends so far, has affected how I perform routine tasks such as flossing my teeth, typing, shampooing my hair, cutting up meat, opening jars and packages, etc. I am grateful these functions, as well as the pain, have improved as of this date, but the stiffness and inflexibility remain.

When a part of the body is injured, one tends to think on the matter. Besides the obvious of refraining from wearing inappropriate shoes in certain situations, I also thought of how the Bible likens Christians as members of one body and we each have a part (Romans 12:4). 1 Corinthians 12:21-22 (NIV) reads: The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. . . (emphasis mine). I feel like this situation is a good reminder to me that the Lord does not play favorites and each one of us is important, no matter how feel about ourselves or how feeble our efforts seem. Paul stated in Romans 2:11 (NIV): For God does not show favoritism. Acts 10:34-35 (NIV) reads: Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism, but accepts men from every nation who fear Him and do what is right." How wonderful that is for us! I am thankful the Lord does not have his favorites. We, as His Creation, are all very important and loved, and there are not any inferior or second class creations among us. However, it is up to us how we live our lives and what we do with our God given potential.


This post is linked to Spiritual Sundays at http://bloggerspirit.blogspot.com/