Steam Burn

A few weeks ago, while I was canning applesauce, I lifted the lid of the stockpot to scoop out a batch of apples, and steam rolled out of the pot and burned my fore arm. I yelped, dropped the lid and watched a large red spot grow on my arm. It stung for the rest of the day, leaving a nice purple stripe.

Steam burns seem so unfair. I was extra careful not to touch the stove or the boiling water or the pans. Yet even though I was cautious, I still got burned.

I remember a time a few years back when I was on my face before God registering a very verbal, tearfully angry complaint. I was suffering the consequences of someone else’s sin, and the pain burned deeply. As I pounded my fists into the floor I yelled, “And I tried so hard to follow your path in this area of my life. I followed your way, so I wouldn’t have to suffer these kinds of consequences!!” I felt that God had abandoned me, that I deserved better. That I should have been rewarded for my choices instead of suffering anyway. I started to think, “What’s the point? Why should I even try to follow God’s way if I’m still going to suffer the consequences of someone else’s sinful actions?”

And then God stopped me in my tracks. I felt a deep impression in my spirit and I listened. “Will you get your eyes off yourself and look at me? I see your faithfulness, and that is exactly why I have placed you in the middle of this mess. You are healthy. You do not carry baggage in this area. And because of that, you are free to offer my love without reserve. I chose you to be here so you could be my arms of compassion. You are so caught up in yourself and your own righteousness and focused on this little burn, but please open your eyes to those around you. The others in this situation are mortally wounded, fighting for their lives and their faith. Don’t get so caught up in your own little world of hurt that you fail to see the purpose I have for you in the midst of this.”

I got off the floor, humbled and changed. This wasn’t about me. It was about what God wanted to do in the lives of those around me. If I was willing, He would use me to help bring His love, His words, His healing. I had been so focused on my own pain that I nearly missed being part of the blessing.

At some point in time, we all suffer the consequences for someone else’s sin. We then have a choice. We can coil our fists in anger at God and at the person who hurt us. Or we can open our hands and say, “Here I am Lord. This hurts more than I could have imagined. Yet, I’m willing. Please use me. Speak through me. Help me show your love.”

Remember that this is the way of Jesus.

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV)

Jesus bore the consequences for our sin. He paid the ultimate price so we could be free to love, even in the midst of our own pain.

Amelia Rhodes

Amelia Rhodes lives near Grand Rapids, Michigan and has been married to her high school sweetheart, Kedron, for 15 years. She is also mama to two young children. If she’s not writing, you’ll find her in the garden, at the sewing machine, or out running. Amelia is a contributing author to “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Here Comes the Bride.” Her first book “Isn’t it Time for a Coffee Break? Doing life together in an all-about-me world,” will release January 2013 (Barbour Publishing).