Moleskin

I was thinking of the calluses on his hands, which is what happens to drummers.
Calluses are thick, hardened layers of skin.
They develop when your skin tries to protect itself against friction and pressure.
They are painful at first but then they act as a sort of protection, a toughening.

I would always comment that his hands matched his personality.
Strong and gentle.
A wonderful combination.
His hands tell his story.

I have been thinking of his hands quite a lot lately.
I have a callus of my own.
Mine is near my left wrist.
It is the part of my hand that I lean on when I write or type.

I have been doing quite a bit of writing lately and the evidence is plain to see.
I stand when I type for long periods of time, which is more comfortable for me.
Standing at my laptop this way puts pressure on that one point of my hand.
Painful at first then a sort of protection, a toughening.

Refusing to type is not an option.
Laying aside my writing is out of the question.
I had to come up with a plan for some comfort to do what I have been called to do.
I remembered something my son used for his drums.

Moleskin.
Padded moleskin with adhesive on the back that sticks to any surface.
My son actually placed the moleskin at different places on the drumheads.
If it was good enough for the drums, I though it might work on my wrist.

It works perfectly.
When I know that I will be typing for quite a while, I cut a small square of moleskin.
I peel off the back and place the moleskin on that pressure point on my wrist.
Now I can type with ease, with a nice cushion right where I need it most.

When you think about it, a callus says much about us.
I would imagine that farmers have callused hands from the hard work they do each day.
The little Amish children walking on the road in their bare feet must have a callus or two.
Painful at first then a sort of protection, a toughening.

Callus is defined as: hardened, as parts of the skin that are exposed to friction.
Callous is defined as: insensitive, indifferent, and unsympathetic.
What can be a good thing, what can be a sort of protection can also be a hindrance.
It can be a hindrance to loving others.

He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. This is why I speak to them I parables. Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding, you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'” (Matthew 13:11-15)

A callus can protect the skin by toughening it up to withstand the pressure.
A callus can affect the heart by toughening it up so that it no longer feels anything.
It is seeing and hearing something factually but not seeing and hearing it actually.
The message cannot get through the tough layers that have been built up over time.

A calloused heart is a terrible thing.
There is not a piece of moleskin big enough to cover that kind of heart.
A calloused heart refuses to see; it is cold and unfeeling.
A calloused heart is not open to the things of God.

I keep your precepts with all my heart. Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in Your law. It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn Your decrees.
(Psalm 119:69-71)

It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn Your decrees.
Affliction can be the impetus for learning for some people.
Affliction can be the cause of callousness in others.
Moleskin doesn’t help this kind of callus.

Salvation does.
The God-man whose wrists have their own scars, took the affliction for us.
Nothing covered His pain and His anguish as He was on the cross that was meant for us.
His violent death and glorious Resurrection is the only covering we need.

His Righteousness is our spiritual moleskin.
Covered in His Righteousness alone, we can stand before the Father.
Gone is our calloused heart of stone that was painful and hardened.
In its place is the soft heart of flesh that has been covered, protected, and kept.

Thank you, Lord Jesus.