I saw a video the other week of a dolphin being freed from some rope and netting that it was caught in. You could see that it had been dragging this extra weight around for a while. There were open wounds, weeping and oozing, where ropes had rubbed through the skin. Its movements were restricted from how tightly the ropes had bound themselves to the dolphins body.
As people approached to help the animal a curious thing happened. It had been laying relatively still in the shallows, quietly resigned to its apparent fate. However, as it's would be deliver approached with a knife in hand it began to thrash about violently, unable to understand that help and freedom were on the way. Throughout the ordeal its own combativeness actually contributed to greater pain.
Thankfully, the dolphin was freed without receiving additional wounds, even if it's own struggle against the human did bring added pain. It actually became still once again after the ropes were released and needed a little nudge from the human to begin moving towards deeper waters.
The video was very typical youtube fodder for bored people. A quick look at human kindness, animals being helped, rescue and freedom all wrapped up in 2-3 minutes. The perfect recipe for going viral.
One thing struck me that mirrors some growing pains I have been going through lately. So many times in life I bristle and complain and even lash out in anger at the Lord for the hard things in life. Hurts and wounds that I have carried for a while have been steady companions for a long season of life and I've grown quite accustomed to their presence.
Much like the dolphin, I have become captive to some painful realities, at times even resigning myself to live with those hurts as if there is no possibility of escape. The pain is so familiar that there are times I have given up hope on the possibility of healing. I can even begin to build my life around those hurts, allowing them to restrict my movement and alter decision making processes. I do things to keep the hurts from binding tighter without realizing that by failing to address them I am making things worse.
I've been going through a painful season of pruning where God has been revealing things in my life that need to be dealt with. As I've sensed God's presence and His desire to bring freedom I can act just like the dolphin. I can thrash and rage when he pulls on a cord of brokenness and feel its pain once again. Not wanting to feel the pain I can resist his efforts to tenderly cut me loose from the things that are bringing me pain.
How often do we act like the dolphin? We become so accustomed to the weights and hurts of our burdens that we simply reorganize our hearts and minds and lives to acquiesce to their painful presence. Maybe we give up hope that we could ever be free. Like me, perhaps we lash out when our Savior draws near to free us because when he begins pulling on the things that bind us we feel fresh pain.
I am learning to be still before God, letting him pull gently on the things that are binding me and causing pain. Yes, it hurts to have him grab ahold of those cords but it is required for him to be able to cut them away. His are the hands of a good surgeon, full of tenderness and a desire to bring healing.
In the video the dolphin was able to swim away to a whole new world of possibilities. The wounds were causing a fresh round of pain from the ordeal but for the first time in a long time there would be no further wounding. Had the dolphin had its way, it would never have been freed as it escaped from its rescuer. Now the dolphin had the opportunity to heal.
The ropes, while no longer present, would leave scars but the scars would be far preferable to the ongoing wounding the ropes gave. Perhaps the scars would even provide a good reminder for the dolphin to stay away from nets and fishing lines in the future.
So to it is in our hearts. Scars are far preferable to wounds. They even serve as reminders of things to avoid. Even more important, they serve as reminders of the gentle hands of our Rescuer who came to set us free.
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