I was reminded today of the imminent Catholic truth that time does not heal all wounds. The suppression of pain from sins that have been committed against us by others does not achieve real forgiveness. Sooner or later the hurt has to be addressed. I think all of us have some kind of pain that we choose to sit on because we'd rather not think about it.
The interesting thing about Christianity is that God calls us to forgive and a fundamental prerequisite of forgiveness is acknowledging the pain we've experienced. It's not that we necessarily want to stay angry at the person who is responsible; it's just that we would rather not go there to begin with. We want to stay comfortable. The call to forgiveness forces us to make ourselves vulnerable, to step out of our comfortable little world where we bury all the pain under the sofa cushions.
Because God doesn't bury the pain, he doesn't cover it up. He's a surgeon. He goes inside us and takes the pain out. It's the only way real healing can take place. But we have to co-operate. And when I see that friends in my life are willing to co-operate with this great Surgeon, however scary it might be, it makes me feel a little better about the world.
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