By Wendy Choy-Chan

A friend shared with me an operation that left him with an open wound on purpose. If the doctor had stitched up the wound in this particular situation, the scar would easily lead to another tumor growth. Therefore, the wound was left to be healed by having the body regrow the flesh from below. God’s design of the human body is amazing! I wonder if some emotional wounds need to be healed this way — in that forcing the wound to close up would potentially lead to more turmoil in the future. Thinking back, I have had a similar experience. 

It was indeed like a cancerous tumor, and it was starting to attack and change my good cells. I was tempted to do to them what they were doing to me to get justice. In God’s grace, he stopped me from going down this path by removing the tumor, leading me to walk away from it all. Walking away left me with an open wound. I had to carefully protect and tend the wound. I had to avoid certain things and people. And sometimes, I had to look away because the sight was too much to bear. There were occasions when I put on a bandaid, which was useful for temporary protection. 

The open wound has driven me to God over and over again, prostrating myself before him, pleading for his grace and mercy.  He is the only one who can heal me, who can regrow the flesh to close up my wound. The pouring of God’s love into my heart through the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5) and the witness of the Holy Spirit with my spirit that I am the beloved daughter of my heavenly Father (Rom 8:16) are the new flesh that is growing from within my heart. It has been a long process, but it is a process of healing and also growing closer to God in his perfect timing. 

Not all wounds are open wounds. For some other ones, a bandaid or some stitches will do the work. But let us submit to our Great Physician to decide how best to treat our wounds, resting and trusting in his steadfast love. 

Wendy Choy-Chan came to North America from Hong Kong when she was 15. After graduating with a MScE, she worked as a telecommunications engineer for a few years before becoming a full-time mom. She earned her MA in Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in 2016, and is now pursuing a D.Min in Affective Spirituality and Christian Formation at Multonmah Biblical Seminary. Wendy lives in Seattle, WA with her husband and two daughters.