Facial

I went to get a facial yesterday. This is usually a quite pleasant experience- an hour of relaxation and I leave with glowing skin. Yesterday, however, I happened to tell Jan that my skin was looking a little splotchy. Big mistake. She says, very casually, " Oh I have a great treatment for your skin. It's called fire-and-ice." That really should have been enough said but I was so relaxed on the table with the quiet room-no kids asking me for anything, no dogs barking, or phones ringing...You see how I could get caught up. I naively agreed to the treatment and prepared to be pampered. After an hour of intense burning pain I am done. She told me as I left I might be a little red in some spots the next day. That was to be expected since the whole purpose was to get rid of the sun damaged areas on my skin that were under the surface causing the splotches.
I woke up this morning looking like I had been mauled by an alley cat. The right side of my face is particularly bad, apparently because of the sun coming in the car window and hitting that side of my face. It looks like shrapnel sprayed my face with all these red spots and patches everywhere. My daughter asked why I had a black eye. I explained it was not black, it was a "little red", that was all- just ask Jan. What is most disturbing is that I asked for this. I wanted to get rid of those splotches and the only way was to bring them to the surface to remove them.

I have had this same experience with God many times. I tell Him the things I want to get rid of in my life, and He casually says, "Oh I have a great treatment for that..." The things I want gone don't disappear, no- He brings circumstances that draw them to the surface where I can see them for what they are- ugly...very ugly. I would rather the process not go this way. I would like for them to disappear under the surface never to be heard from again. But He knows this cannot be. They have to come out. Then and only then can they be healed. We don't like to wear our flaws and imperfections out in the open for other people to see but if we never face our failures then how can we overcome them? Fortunately we are not alone in this. Jan sent me home to deal with my face but He never sends us on this journey alone. He will face those ugly spots with us and He will heal all those places. He will not let us be put to shame in our broken and frail state. he promises to cover our ugliness with His beauty, our failure with His victory. It is sometimes a painful process, so maybe it is true- beauty really is pain. But with Him it has a purpose and even better- the pain is only temporary and the results are even more impressive than un-splotchied skin!