Tuesday, July 21, 2009

In Grown Toenails

My daughter has battled with ingrown toenails.
So far, she has had three procedures, each on different "sides" of her toenail, if you will.
Only one more to go. (on the big toes, that is)
When she had the last procedure done a few weeks ago, the doctor asked,
"Do you want to just fix the other one now, while we are here?"
My daughter declined, stating she would just wait.
She HATES the shots (nerve blocks) that she has to endure to have the surgery.
She also hates the toenail when it remains ingrown.
When this most recent one started to be a real bother;
painful and infected, she shared with me that it was time to go to the doctor.
I asked her if I could "work" on it for a little bit, to see if I could relieve some of the pain.
(pull the nail out of the skin where it was embedded and trim)
Her response was an adamant
"NO! I will just keep a band aid on it."
Of course the surgery was immanent,
and likely would not have been so painful if she had agreed to have it done earlier.

And I wonder....
how many times have I said the same thing to God, the great surgeon,
regarding my own situation?
"No God, I would rather just keep a band aid on it."
Why is it that I don't want to endure the additional pain
that it would take to take existing pain away?
And like Rebecca's toe, it only gets worse.
And then there is no choice.
I have to let God do what He has to do.
He knows the best way to heal me.
And yes, like an ingrown toenail being removed, it hurts worse before it gets better.
But it DOES get better.

Next time I need help from the Almighty Surgeon,
I hope I agree to the procedure before the problem becomes worse.

4 comments:

pam said...

great post...sometimes I find myself in the midst of the procedure and would like to bail...so the endurance to get all the way through...so tough when in the midst...but really hard when God first comes knocking.

H-Mama said...

i had problems with my toenails as a teen... mainly due to injury, but i certainly remember those shots the most! ouch!!

Paula said...

Hi Liz, I've popped over from Sweat Pea Paula's page. I also suffer from the same problem as your daughter, and find the only relief is "v" cutting, which is not attractive with nail polish and open toed shoes, but necessary! I love the comparison and it's so true. If I let my nails get out of control, if I don't regularly or adequately trim them, they give me problems. Same with me; I need control, regular and sometimes more than adequate trimming. Great post. Thank you :)

Cindy said...

Another good, but uncomfortable post because of the truth. :)