Layer by Layer

Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise (Jeremiah 17:14, NIV).

I used to be a really picky eater. Thankfully, I have expanded my palette over the years. That being said, there are still three foods that I generally won’t choose to eat: mushrooms, tomatoes, and onions. I know, I know! These foods are staples in most meals, but I just haven’t been able to train myself to like them.

I can do salsa, but offer me a tomato on a sandwich and I’ll say no thank you. I like onion rings, but throw a slice of onion on a burger and this girl won’t be eating it. I don’t like mushrooms period, but I can be tricked if they’re finely chopped and cooked in a dish without me knowing.

Though I can’t bring myself to eat these foods in a stand alone fashion, I do have an appreciation for how much flavor they bring. It has taken me quite a long time, but I can handle eating cooked onions now!

Have you ever cut up an onion? When you slice it in half you expose the layers and you’re able to see the core in the center. But this process is necessary in order to really bring out the delicious flavor when it is added to a dish.

Forrest Gump says, “Life is like a box of chocolates!”, but I say life is sometimes like an onion. We get cut—harsh words from a friend, betrayal from a family member, a let down at work. The things in life that cause us hurt often lead to us building layers around our hearts. Sometimes they are necessary to protect us, but if we aren’t careful we can end up walking around with the core of who God created us to be hiding under the depths of that hurt.

I am so thankful for the deep spiritual work I did with my counselor back in 2017 and 2018. I remember one conversation specifically when we discussed the nature of healing being like an onion. There are multiple layers, they often bring tears as we work through them, but it is the peeling of those layers that brings out the best.

During my time of in-depth counseling I would often find myself circling back to familiar wounds that I thought I previously conquered. Each time the Lord was asking me to go deeper, to peel another layer, and get closer to exposing the heart of who He created me to be.

Just as an onion must be peeled and cut up in order to add wonderful flavor to a dish, the Lord often asks us to walk through a spiritual healing process that requires us to cut through the walls we have built around our wounded hearts. But a heart that has been exposed to the healing power of Jesus as He works through each layer of hurt allows us to give the best of ourselves to others.

I want to point you today to Jeremiah 17:14, which says: Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise. It is not always easy, but it is always worth it.

#jeremiah #christ #thenarrowpath #layer #obedience #discipline #jesus #heart