The whitehead, the pimple and the boil

SINCE TIME AS A TEENAGER BEGAN…a long time ago…I have at different times and in different seasons and for most likely dietary reasons…had to deal with some ‘stuff’ that appeared on my face. Most recently on the side of my waist…but let me stop that thought trail as I’m getting ahead of myself.

LIKE I SAID ALREADY…it was a long time ago, that these things started happening on my face. And I have learned how to handle them well. With a whitehead it’s really so simple. Just keep my face clean…and when that’s not enough…then if a whitehead appears…just give a little squeeze or apply some pressure…and usually it just releases quickly…I wash my hands and my face…and though there may be a little redness…it doesn’t last long.

NOW A PIMPLE IS DIFFERENT…it seems to begin with some pain. And even though my face is very clean…a hardness may appear on my nose, chin or eyebrow or forehead or cheek…and this pimple that is so hard…sometimes hurts very bad…it becomes red and inflamed…it may hurt bad for some time…before it finally comes to a head…then can release all the infection…but sometimes it takes time even after coming to a head…for the infection to clear up…and while I continue to clean my face…it may take several weeks before it’s completely healed and gone from sight…but until that time comes…I sometimes try to cover it up…with some makeup or colored lotion…but really, it’s still visible.

NOW THE BOIL ON THE SIDE of my body was new to me…last summer I noticed a hard, red area on my side…at first I didn’t pay much attention to it…but eventually asked for advice…and my family said it might be a boil, so I made a doctors appointment.

AT THE DOCTORS OFFICE…they told me some long drawn out name for the sore. But when I asked if it was a boil…they said it could be…but they couldn’t say for sure…but asked me to take a round of antibiotics and come back after I finished them…and they would let me know.

SO I TOOK ALL THE MEDICINE…but the pain only got worse…and I looked up the name of what the doctor said it was…on the Internet. What I gathered from my research…was this thing was most likely a boil…and they sometimes go away on their own…but other times need more than avoidance.

SO I RETURNED to the doctor after finishing my round of antibiotics…and the ‘boil’ was much worse and he said they would have to lance it, and squeeze out the pus and pack it with medicated gauze…and I would need to take another round of antibiotics.

SO I SAID GO AHEAD…do what must be done…oh how naïve I can sometimes be…not realizing what was coming. Perhaps that is best…because although the lancing was painful…the squeezing of the boil…brought the most excruciating physical pain that I had experienced since childbirth…and I tried not to cry…I put my fist in my mouth…but the screams in my throat sometimes escaped…and the tears would not be restrained…oh how pain filled it was…to have that pus removed…and the doctor was kind and apologetic…but said it must be done.

WELL THEY SENT ME AWAY…with kind words and another round of medicine...with instruction to return to them in a matter of time. When I returned the doctor said…he would have to squeeze the wound again…and as the memory of the pain was so fresh…the tears rolled down my face before he even touched the wound. And yes it was painful again…but it was necessary…and they packed it with medicated gauzed and I left…with the instruction to complete the round of antibiotics then return…and I did as they said…and when I returned….he said they’d done all they could do…now it just needed to be kept clean…and given time to heal.

SO WHAT’S UP WITH ALL THIS TALK…of whiteheads, pimples and boils? The Lord reminded me of this…when I share so much of myself …and also why it’s difficult sometimes when I’ve thought I’ve already gone over this…but apparently it is because we live in an unclean world…infections and infectious diseases sometimes take over. And I wonder if I hadn’t dealt with the boil by getting help…from a professional…would the disease have spread…and maybe even spread to another?

AND WHAT I SEE FROM ALL THIS ANALOGY…is that no matter who we are…and no matter how clean we seem…that if we are infected and the infection is as hard as a rock…and the poison hurts or not…but is only avoided or covered up…it might go away on it’s own…or perhaps hurt someone else…so if there’s hardness that needs a squeezing…perhaps the Lord is leading…to get professional help…or to just hug each other more often…squeezing our love to each other…and if pus comes out…don’t be put off too much…just remind them that although…it might hurt right now…it must be done…and while we are sorry for sure…it is kinder to love and it is best to get the inside cleaned out…and then give the wound time for healing.

AND I’M REMINDED ONCE AGAIN OF JESUS’ WALK ON EARTH …He exposed the pride filled, self-righteous and sinful hearts of the Pharisee’s…who looked clean on the outside…but what was on the inside…was poisonous, hateful…a hardness of heart…and they belittled or debated or argued with Him…and then demanded that He be crucified. And yes, although this was necessary to cover our sin…I wonder if we’d only obeyed from the start…and had only Fear of God…and not the fear of man…would that still have had to happen?