Bruises and Geese

I bruise easily. VERY easily. In fact at this moment I have two nasty spots on my left leg and absolutely no idea where they came from. My Mom recently shared with me that when I was a child she worried about how easily I got hurt without feeling it happen. Other times I know exactly where the bruise comes from: close encounters with the stairs. I'm constantly tripping up and down the stairs.

This isn't rocket science but guess what: bruises are temporary. Hip Hip Hooray! Known or unknown cause a bruise will always heal. Same goes with the bruises life inflicts upon us. Sometimes we feel the blow and remember how it happened. Other times it shows up and we're left with 'where did THIS come from?!' Whatever the situation, just as God created an intricate body capable of renewing itself, he also designed the human soul for healing. But remember, healing implies that one must first feel the pain. Not suppress it, but feel it, and then move forward.

So what's with the geese you might ask? My graduate school campus is in a wooded area thirty minutes north of Chicago. With melting snow and heavy rains we now have good size ponds all over campus. The geese love it. One of my friends actually had to stop on the sidewalk to let them pass last week. My encounter with the geese came this morning as my friend and I were returning to class. We had just reached the top of a large set of stone steps (I made it safely to the top) and there to greet us were five large geese. It took us by surprise but we turned left and continued walking. We only made it a couple of feet before the piercing sound of an angry goose flying inches from our face jolted us backwards!! We laughed so hard!!

Feel the bruises, let them heal, then find yourself some 'geese'.