Th ex-ray was clear; the fracture would always be there. The surprise was that when broken bones mend the two parts do not magically blend back together in an invisible fuse as if nothing had ever happened. No, as the doctor pointed out to me, new growth wraps itself around the break to encompass it and make it stronger. The ankle bone that was there prior to the break will not be the bone there after the mending is done.
It was later that the elegance of this small fact revealed to me a truth with applications across the spectrum of bones to human relations and organizational management.
The 'break' in a relationship cannot be mended as if it never occurred, however, something new can emerge that takes that break, recognizes it and then wraps its arms around it to grow something new and stronger.
It does not happen overnight, it may be awkward, clumsy, and occasionally painful, but it will happen. It does not happen instantaneously but in small stages, bit by bit, over the time needed for the process to finish. It is not a pretty thing; just as dead skin is trapped beneath that cast during the healing time, the residue of an old life may linger on, may be resistant to healing oils, and may take awhile to recover to a healthy state.
It will happen though, with attention, care, and caution the broken will once more appear normal. All of life is lived by many small steps - sometimes they are nimble movements and sometimes they are encumbered by the heavy process of healing and recovery. In that slow, intentional process when we drag a cast around it seen the truth that we need to slow down, examine things, more carefully live our life and choose our actions with more wisdom, grace, and forgiveness.
The fracture may always be there but it is our choice, ultimately, whether it is made stronger or compromised. Do we allow the fracture to remain a raw wound or do we allow the healing process to build something new and stronger from the brokenness?
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