Lend Me Your Ear

The comments have been humorous.  “Hey,Van Gogh!  Mr. Spock!  Is that a listening device?  Biggest Bluetooth I’ve ever seen!”

I guess that is to be expected when you have a bandage the size of a small satellite dish covering one ear.  Actually, the comments aren’t as funny as the sideways glances and outright stares from people who don’t know what to say.

I had a little surgery on my right ear last week to remove a basal cell carcinoma.  The bandage seems really out of proportion for the size of the site, but it has been sore enough that I have appreciated the extra padding.  I’ve also had some fun with it when asked about it.  My favorite response is that my wife told me she didn’t want to hear one more word out of me, to which I responded, “But …”

Of course, anyone who knows Mrs. Sweetie knows better, but after 27 years of marriage she’s used to my warped sense of humor.  She’s also become accustomed to my not hearing everything she says, so having one ear partially covered has really not caused any additional misunderstandings.

My doctor tells me that, if there were an ideal place to have a skin cancer, this is it.  On the backside of my ear, it will be invisible to most people once the bandages are gone.  Someone will have to get really up close and personal to notice the scar.

As I have pondered this latest episode in the continuing saga of goofy things that happen in mid-life, I am struck by some parallels between hurts that are physical and those that are emotional or spiritual. 

Our personal response is often denial.  That little bump on the back of my ear has been there for months.  Even though I have had some pre-cancerous lesions removed before, and I am supposed to go in for a checkup once a year, I have just been too busy to deal with it. I’ll get around to it when the schedule slows down. Yet, there was this nagging notion in the back of my mind that it really would not take care of itself.  At some point, I wouldn’t be able to deny it anymore and the longer I put it off, the risk of serious consequences increased.

The same is true with spiritual and emotional hurts.  We can pretend they are not there, but that pretending doesn’t make them go away.  At some point in time, we need to realize that the wound will not go away by itself and consult the Great Physician.  1 Peter 5:7 describes it this way, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”

For the past few days, this BOB (Big Ol’ Bandage) on the side of my head has made it obvious that I had a boo boo of some kind.  Once it is all healed up, there will be an almost invisible scar in an almost invisible location.  As I mentioned before, someone will have to get really up close and personal to notice it. 

The problem with those emotional and spiritual hurts is that there may not be any obvious outward appearances.  We have to be willing to risk getting up close and personal to let our hurts be seen and to see the hurts of others.  I wonder how many opportunities of ministry I have missed because I didn’t get close enough to see the scar. Galatians 6:2 says, “Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.”

Sometimes we need to get close to one another to both hear and be heard so that we can remind each other how much our lives matter to God.  So, lend me your ear and I’ll lend you mine.

Just as soon as I get rid of BOB.