Spiritually Whole

I heard a talk earlier this year given by Camille Johnson, the woman who leads my church’s women’s organization. She spoke about the biblical parable of the ten lepers, recounting how all ten lepers were healed—but only one was made whole. She then posed a question that struck me deeply: If healing and wholeness are not the same, can one be made spiritually whole by Him [Jesus], yet not be physically or emotionally healed?

She reminded us that the Master Healer will mend all of our afflictions—physical and emotional—in His time, but she also asked, “In the waiting to be healed, can one be whole?” Over the past many months, I've thought about that question many times.

On this 22nd anniversary of my car accident, I can truly say that I have been made whole. Not the kind of whole that allows me to “take up my bed and walk” as is spoken of in the fifth chapter of John, but a wholeness that fills me with a peace and joy that make my physical challenges easier to bear. 

If I had to sum up my accident and the effect it had on my life in one phrase, it would be this: what broke me physically healed me spiritually. The physical change that took place on November 17 was instantaneous. The spiritual transformation is ongoing. I am a work in progress and I am profoundly grateful for the wholeness I’ve found along the way. 💖