Drop It Like It's Hot! / Mrs Mandy Winkle

Mrs Mandy Winkle

Pastor's Wife

Bible Baptist Church of Rendon

Fort Worth, TX

Drop It Like It’s Hot!

Four years ago, I had a freak accident with the pull-down attic ladder at our church. A large side section of the tip of my left index finger had been severed between the metal hinges. Thankfully, the cut narrowly missed the bone and the plastic surgeon who was on call at the ER that day was able to reattach my finger tip. The doctor said a person has anywhere between 5,000 to 10,000 nerve endings in their hands. It makes sense as we use our hands to feel with. It also explains why I had pain for months after my stitches had healed. To this day, my finger tip is very sensitive and still has some numbness to it. I have trouble clasping a necklace behind my neck because I can’t feel where I’m holding the clasp. This wound left damaged nerves behind.

As I said, it has been four years since the accident, but I was keenly reminded of this wound recently. My son was helping me drill a hole into the brick fireplace above the mantle, so I could hang a picture. Drilling into the mortar was giving us a fit. As the drill was grinding through at what seemed a snail’s pace, I pressed my weight into the drill to give it some help. That made the drill bit snap in two! Amazed by my own brutal strength (ha!) I curiously picked up the broken drill bit from the mantle to inspect it. That was a mistake! The red-hot drill bit seared into my left thumb and index finger like a hot knife through butter. I screamed and dropped the drill bit. My son looked up and said, “Mom, that’s hot!!”

Even though my finger had long since healed, I was reminded of that old wound. This made such an impression on my heart. We all have old wounds. Wounds that have been made by past disappointments, failures, sin, and wounds made by others. We eventually heal and move forward. Sometimes the wound leaves some damage behind and we become sensitive to certain things.

Hurts are going to come our way. It’s a fact of life. It is also a tactic of our enemy, the devil. There are some hurts that we need to let go of, immediately. Things that need to be dropped like a hot drill bit! Anger is one that comes to mind. Ephesians 4:6 says, “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” It is not a sin to get angry. The Bible tells us that even God is angry with the wicked every day. Look at the verse again – it gives a time table to when you should stop being angry. Holding onto anger will only sear your heart further, making the wound grow. It will eventually grow into bitterness and will eat into your very soul. Let go of your anger.

Another thing we need to let go of are our past hurts and disappointments. Holding onto these will numb your heart toward your relationships with others. Because my finger was numb, I probably held onto that drill bit a little longer than I should have, creating a deeper wound. Being numb to others will only hurt you further. Forgive and let go. Proverbs 18:14 “The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?” Wounds need time to heal. Holding on to additional hurts, will only remind you of that old wound. If it’s left to fester, it will only bring more harm. We have a real enemy! If he can get us focused on ourselves, our hurts, our wounds, he effectively renders us useless for the cause of Christ. If you’re holding on to anger and bitterness, you won’t be telling others about Calvary. If you’re numb and callous toward others, you won’t be reaching out with encouragement to your brother or sister in Christ.

I urge you to take an inventory of your heart. Are you holding onto something that you need to let go of? Relief flooded my sensitive little nerve endings the very moment I dropped that hot drill bit. Yes, it throbbed and hurt for awhile and I wished I had never picked it up. But

it wasn’t until I let go of the thing that hurt me that healing could begin. You, too, can have healing – if you let it go.