Casandra Martin

More lessons from camp. Another dirty foot. More tears rolling down sun-kissed cheeks. This time the culprit was a splinter. The thin fragment of wood jabbed its way into her foot, disrupting more than her skip. It punctured her smile and deflated her happy spirit.

I cleaned off her foot and sat down to take a good look. It was a dandy of a splinter. I got out the tweezers and told her what I was going to need to do to remove it. Her eyes asked a thousand questions as the possibilities unfolded themselves in her mind. The splinter hurt, but would removing it hurt more? Was it worth it? Could we just leave it alone? Maybe it wasn’t so bad.

Her face reflected the one I too often see in the mirror. I have splinters all the time. Pieces of pride, slivers of selfishness, and splinters of sin embed themselves in my heart. They hurt, wounding my peace, disrupting my joy, causing me to limp into the presence of Jesus. He looks at what pierces my soul and tells me what needs to be done to make me whole again. And my eyes ask the same questions as the young girl with her foot in my lap. I weigh the familiar pain against the transformation He offers.

I tell the girl that we need to get the splinter out. Left in her foot, it will fester and become infected. A couple of minutes of discomfort now will send her on her way to being able to run, jump, and play. If we don’t take care of it today, things will be harder tomorrow.

She slowly nods okay. We tell stories and talk about our favorite things. Before she knows it, the splinter is laying in my hand. She picks it up and marvels at its size. The pain is forgotten. The fear left far behind. Courage produces confidence, and trust unfolds into transformation.

My Jesus Resolution today is to be brave about facing my splinters. They need to come out. Pretending they aren’t really there leaves festering sores in my soul. They need His touch and the cleansing power of His blood. Sometimes I am afraid of what transformation will require, but doing nothing will leave me wounded and unable to walk where He wants to lead me. So today I am going to take a deep breath, nod okay, and let Him work on my heart.