warts and all

Another one of those posts from the archives of my mind...maybe if I get what is in the "archives" down on "paper", then new ideas will come....  Maybe.

Confession is one of my favorite topics to write about, but I've tried to limit myself lately!  ;-)  Probably the general public doesn't care to know each and every time I set foot in a confessional, though I'm more than happy to share my experiences if it gets someone else there.  But it's been a while, so maybe we can make room for a confession post!  Or more aptly - a confession analogy post.  A rewrite of something I wrote on another site.

About five years ago or so, I had a wart.  [sin]  At first, I didn't know what it was - I'd never had a wart before.  [sometimes we don't immediately recognize sin for what it is]

I thought it might be a splinter, and I tried to get rid of it myself [sometimes we try to get rid of sin on our own], but it didn't work.  Perhaps because I didn't really know what it was, I couldn't treat it appropriately.

Finally, I realized exactly what I was dealing with.  It was ugly [so is sin], and it hurt if I hit it just so [sin hurts, too].  I didn't want to spread it to others [our sin does sometimes spread to others], so I covered it with a bandaid.  [Sometimes we try to cover up our sin with attitudes, behaviors, blame, or excuses.]

I tried more over-the-counter remedies, but the roots were deep, and these remedies didn't work, either.  [same with sin]  I had heard it might go away on its own, so I didn't seek expert help immediately.  [We think we can make our sins go away, if we just ignore them and put off confession.]

But it didn't go away.  As a matter of fact, I had a lot of stress in my life at that time, and it started to get worse.  [stress makes just about everything worse]  It started to grow and to itch and it was painful.  [sin sometimes takes on a life of its own...]

One day I had had enough! [ever get tired of living with sin?]  I made sure that I could be at the doctor's office before it closed. [The 'office hours' for confession are not always convenient...sometimes we just have to make it a point to get there when it's open.]

This visit cost me - in $$, to be sure.  [There is usually a price to pay for confession, too...sometimes it's embarrassment or nervousness or the realization that we really aren't perfect.]

The doctor took a look at my finger and quickly diagnosed the situation and indicated what the treatment would be.  [This is what the priest does - you show him the spiritual warts, and he can give you advice on what to do about it.]

He gave me a shot in my finger - to numb it.  It hurt for just a second.  [Sometimes you feel a twinge with confession, but generally the priests try to make it as painless as possible.]  Then, when everything was numb, he proceeded to burn it off.  I could smell the burning flesh.  [Fortunately, there is nothing here really analogous to confession.  I have never had a burning flesh experience in the confessional.]

I was left with an open wound that I had to care for for a week or so, but the pain and itching was gone!  [It takes a little while for the pain to totally disappear, but in time, it does.]

I was left with a small scar on my finger, but I never regretted taking that trip to the doctor. [Our actions have consequences that aren't always erased, but confession is something that you never regret doing.]

Sometimes I visit the doctor, still.  Some visits are for "preventive maintenance" and some are for actual illnesses.  [The same can be said of confession.  It's not a one-time thing.  Sometimes serious sins are our reason for going, but other times, we just need to prevent small things from turning into big things.]

In the end, the Divine Physician reaches out to us.  He doesn't take a look at our warts and recoil in horror.  No, He tenderly takes them, heals them, and makes us whole again.  For that, I am very thankful.