Friday, November 21, 2008

if you never washed your hands before...you will now!

I can distinctly remember the lectures in nursing school about worms - and not the kind you fish with. I'm talking microscopic sized creepy little guys passed inconspicuously through poor hygiene or undercooked pork into the body of unknowing humans. Though small enough, the naked eye cannot detect them...they can grow to be multiple feet long - a parasite literally sucking the life out of you as they steal your nutrition. I HATE worms...tape worms, any kind really....GROSS!Which brings me to this picture. You are looking at a worm growing inside an Arizona woman's brain. After weeks of cancer like symptoms, the docs went into this brain expecting to remove a tumor - what they found was much different! A live, growing worm!!! Is your skin crawling yet? Mine is! EEwwwwh!

So I'm thinking how similar this little parasite is to things I've observed in my own life.

Ever so subtly, the little worm of deception or fear slips in - without me even realizing it.
As I go about my life, this microscopic harmless thought, wound, or worry begins to implant, embedding itself among all that is giving me life. Slowing it begins to feed on what is meant for my nourishment and growth, and the fear/wound/worry begins to thrive.

Before I am even aware to defend myself, the parasite has now gone beyond thriving to actually starving me - taking all the goodness that God is pouring into me & thieving it for its own purposeless existence. It simply exists to rob me - expertly placed my the one Jesus says comes only to "steal, kill, and destroy".

Once fully grown, I need an expert to carefully detangle this foul creature that has so enwrapped itself among the complexities of my inner spirit. I need to go to the Great Healer, Jesus, to free me, to release the grip of the fear/pain/wound/worry.

So the moral of this story? Wash your hands really, really well - you never know what your ingesting....
And be just as diligent about the subtle messages you allow to filter into your life. (Above all else, guard you heart...it is the wellspring of life *Proverbs 4* or to paraphrase Paul, take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ). Or if Satan so expertly attacks your wounds (he knows them very well, and he knows how to make them bleed) submit them to Christ for healing. Do not let the lies that break your heart begin to settle in and entangle themselves in your spirit. They will feed on all that is intended for your joy and steal the LIFE Christ intends to breathe into you.
ejk
(this is so speaking to myself above all else. This is just a truth God revealed to me tonight that is so relevant to some things I'm dealing with. I just thought I'd share with you as I'm trying to learn.)

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Amen sister! I'm feeling you! Our Beth Moore Bible Study recently took time to explore our "thought lives" and how they can keep us in captivity when we dwell on the lies and aren't seeking His truth. I loved her (Beth's) analogy of a box window that represents a prison cell in which we are captives...it is wallpapered with lies. To break free from this, we must make every thought captive to Christ, stripping down the walls of lies and re-wallpapering with His truth. Once we do that, the prison doors are wide open and we are no longer in captivity and can more easily find liberty in Christ a reality...there's more to it, but that tells a bit of it. It helps to visually picture this... "stripping down the lies" (doubts, insecurities, inferiorities) and re-wallpapering with truth (our identity in Christ, our purpose in His kingdom, our worth, our focus on Him).

Love your worm anaology too. Satan is a sneaky snake- so the slithering of lies into our lives/minds is a great analogy too. And I certainly hate worms (in first grade a boy threw worms in my long hair on recess and they were sticking- I panicked and couldn't get them out and have had a worm phobia ever since) Major heebee-jeebies! (although having a little boy is helping to overcome this phobia- not necessarily by choice though)

Thanks for sharing your heart. We all need to be praying for eachother and building each other up. Your words are wise, insightful and inspiring.

Kelli said...

That's really gross. But sin in our lives like a tape worm is really even more gross, so thanks for sharing your insight.