Maria on Surrender

Did you ever have a minor cut or scrape that at first hurts so bad, you don’t know how you will ever think about anything else? The pain seems to override everything else you have to do or focus on….It takes all of your energy to do something other than try to alleviate the pain from this wound.

Then after you nurse this wound for a little while, you realize the pain is not as it once was, it is tolerable, and you can go about your daily routine without having to feel the reminder that it is there and still causing you pain. Then suddenly, one day, you see the remainder of a scab or scar that was there, and you actually forgot it was there, or that not so long ago, it was causing you pain.

I feel that the wounds of our lives, our hearts, our emotions, are very similar to this kind of wound. No matter how minor the wound may be, the pain that can come from such a wound can pierce our innermost beings. But when we come to Christ, we know and we learn that He can make all things new, He has paid the price of his life for us, for our sins…so initially we think that if we go after Him and search out answers to all of our questions, maybe he can take away some of this pain. And we read His promises, we believe them to be true, but in the meantime, we are nursing these wounds…they still hurt. We know in our heart that He is who He says He is, and we see Him working in other people’s lives, and we read, we ask, we want to know him more….and we believe. But why then, if we believe, do these things still hurt? We think, “If I were a true believer, this pain would be gone…what’s wrong with me? I must not know enough, I must not be willing enough…” So, in turn, we search more, more resources, more books, more messengers and conferences, we think to ourselves, “surely if I go here or there, or read this book or that book, then I will fully understand and the pain will go away.”

But it is not until we realize there is only one book and only one resource that we need. It is in His word, and His name is Jesus, and He has endured the pain of our wounds, he has felt our scrapes, he has felt them even before we did. He knew we would be feeling them, and he has been waiting for us to totally completely surrender and believe him at his word. Believe that he is who he says he is, and he wants us to depend on him to carry us through.

I feel that this cannot happen completely until we learn what it is to receive this grace, this love, this mercy that he has for us. Each and every one of us. When we stop searching, running to find answers…when we just sit in his presence and truly receive his words from the only book we need, it is then and only then that our healing can begin. He doesn’t want us to hold onto anything…he knows we’re holding on to it and trying to do it in our own strength…he wants us to trust all of his words, and allow him to rescue us from this pain. He wants believing and receiving to go hand in hand. He knows it is sometimes difficult for us to receive….because some of these even small scrapes can be very, very deep and cause intense pain. When we decide to immerse ourselves in his word and live within his grace, we can truly, completely receive his promises.
And then, one day, as this receiving becomes second nature to us, we realize there were wounds that have now begun to heal. You see, when we surrender all to the Lord, and let his rain fall on us…and soak in it, it is then and only then that pain will become a memory. He will take the pain, and bask in the joy of our commitment and love for him.

Allow him to take your pain.
Allow him to rescue you from the wounds in your heart.
Let him in.
Give him your pain.
He wants to take it.
Go ahead. He really is who he says he is.
Let him heal you.
Surrender.


Maria and her family reside in NE Ohio. She and her husband are the parents of two. Their daughter is a person with hemipelegic cerebral palsy. Because of her experiences, Maria provides parent-to-parent support for families involved in her local early intervention program. Her gift for writing has come directly from the Lord since her daughter’s diagnosis. She writes a monthly column entitled, “Special Parents, Special Kids” for the Mahoning Valley Parent magazine in Ohio; and has expanded into Parent magazines in parts of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. She is also a contributing author at www.mommiesmagazine.com. Maria is very passionate about getting the word out to special parents that they are not alone in their journey of raising their special child; and that they were chosen by God to parent their children. Maria welcomes comments and communication. If you would like to talk to her, please leave a comment with an e mail address.