A splinter

I have a splinter on the side of my hand. I noticed it when I got it last night, and thought I pulled it all out, but apparently not--today it's sore, swollen and a little puss-y (ew)--but not so much that I can squeeze out the culprit splinter.

When I went to Korea several years ago, I brushed the back of my hand on a freshly cut bush, and got a splinter. It was small and really deep, and I didn't even realize that's what it was until it finally came out...several years later. What I did notice was a white cyst, but I had no clue where it came from.

I guess that's how sin is...sometimes you know you've got it, try to extract it, but don't get it out all at once. But it bugs you enough that you poke and prod, and are willing to stick needles in your hands to try to extract it. Sometimes you can't tell which end to get it out from, and sometimes you need someone to help you get it out. There are other times, you don't even realize you have it until it errupts years later.

I guess I'll go sterilize a needle and see if Patrick can help me dig out the splinter.

God, thanks for using a splinter to remind me of my sin, and that I should be vigilant about trying to get it out. Help me identify the sin "splinters" in my life and give me the desire to remove them. Thanks that you're the great surgeon, and that you're always willing to do it for me, as painful as it might be.