War Wounds

Have you ever found yourself smack dab in the middle of war and suffered a massive injury? Have you ever been in a situation where retreat was out of the question, but going forward was excruciatingly painful?    That's the way it is sometimes - that is if you're alive and breathing.  Life is a battlefield, and we're all soldiers.  The war wounds we receive are not just flesh wounds, many times the most damaging injuries occur in the heart; deep into the soul. Trying to move with such deep seared injuries, exudes pain with every step.  But what option do you have but to press forward? 

• Our first natural instinct when we obtain an injury is stand still and assess the situation and severity of our wounds.  Often we are in shock, and unbelief spreads through us like a disease causing us confusion.  We allow this deception to color our perception and misdiagnose our true state of being.
• Our second natural instinct is to remain still in fear of increasing the damage, but that's the wrong move.  When we're in the middle of a battle field - we need to seek shelter, avoid further attack and obtain medicine - seek out our Strong Fortress and our Tower of Strength.  The only way we can do that is to keep moving forward; keep pressing on - even through all the pain. 
• Our third natural instinct is to retreat into ourselves and give up.  When has ever putting our lives into the hands of our enemies ever benefit us?  If our enemy allows us to live, we become their living prisoners; slaves to the things which have wounded us and will continue to wound us periodically at their choosing. 

 All battles leave scars known as war wounds.  Who we are is not determined in how we obtain our scars, but in the decisions we make after the attack.  I look back at the white faded lines of my past wounds and realize how far I've moved forward from that moment.  While I was "IN" that pain and torment, I couldn't see what lay ahead of me - but I'm so glad I took the steps that brought me to where I am today.

The enemy is still dropping bombs all around me, shooting arrows at me and plotting against me, but I'm still pressing on.  I'm sure I'll obtain some more war wounds until my mission is complete, but I know that other days like this - a day when I can look back and see how far I've come - are on the horizon.

Till next time,
~T.L. Gray