It Was No Small Nail

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It’s so early right now, y’all…the house is so quiet that I feel the still.  All I hear is the sound of three dogs snoozing in their beds, and the eastern sky just barely thinking about starting our new day.

This is when I hear Him most easily. In this … early morning stillness.

And as I sit here with my Bible, reading in Matthew about Christ’s crucifixion, I just feel all afresh the reality of this one thing –

It was no small nail.

You see, last night my Samantha lost her balance in her room an when her foot came down, it landed on a nail that was still in a wooden frame, but the frame was laying face down. So that made the nail sticking straight up with the strength of the frame around it. The nail literally penetrated her foot with the full length of the nail…and the thing is, this was no small nail. It is one we used in our renovations and it’s comparable to a decking nail.

She didn’t have on a shoe, only a little sock, so when she came out of her room all I heard was, “Mom, can you please help me?” I turned and saw tears rolling down her face as she was trying to be strong. She is not expressive with her pain, more of an internalizer. So I saw her tears, her head thrown back and her holding on to the walls as she made her way to the kitchen.

By the time she sat down, the blood was dropping on the tile floor. Her pain was immense, and as I knelt down to lift her foot and put it in a bowl of cleansing water of Norwex powder, I kept my eyes on her to try to read her. I wanted to see in her face if the water was burning or making it better. I wanted to see her eyes and her expressions to know if it was helping ease the pain or making it worse. As I knelt down and tried to clean her nail scarred foot, seeing the blood fill the bowl of water, I realized even more just how … it was no small nail. 

But that’s not all.

I also couldn’t help but think about Mary.  Jesus’ mother. I couldn’t help but think about Jesus, and the horrible pain of a REALLY “no small nail” that penetrated both of His feet so that my sins & your sins could not & would not be counted against us.

Seeing Samantha frown and squeeze her eyes tightly with tears running down her cheeks while trying to endure the pain, … as I washed blood off her foot, … it all, all of it, made me think about how desperately Mary had to have wanted to stop the pain of her Son. To ease His suffering. To just make it all go away.

It’s what mothers feel.

It’s what mothers must do when they see their child in pain. They must do all they can to eliminate it. To help them endure through it. To hold them as they suffer because it’s just what mothers do.

I’m telling you … as I treated her nail scarred foot, I just couldn’t help but think about Jesus and how He CHOSE the nails. He CHOSE them. As He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, He knew the crucifixion was coming. He knew the nails that would not only be driven through His feet, but through His hands … and then He knew the sins of the world would be placed on His body, and He knew for the first time ever in all of ever, that He would be separated from His Father. He knew it all. He knew the pain and suffering and torture to His body that was coming.  He knew the cup that He had to drink — for you and for me.

Yet, He said, “Not as I will, but as You will.

Yet, He chose the nails!

If there were any other verse I would want in my house, it would be THAT verse. “Not as I will, but as You will.” Matthew 26:39  – A verse of total and complete submission to the Father!

Ladies, today … I just want to ask us, that as we go about our day – thinking and planning ahead for the holidays – that we stop and take time to express, and I mean really express how grateful we are for Christ’s love on the cross. His love for us and His love for His Father in choosing the nails. Thank Him. Speak out loud your praise! Your worship for our Savior. Thank Him that it was no small nail!

But on one other note….

Samantha stopped crying, her pain began to lessen as she took medicine and applied ointments. But as I helped her dress in her night time clothes, and get all tucked in so that her foot could rest in a comfortable position….I thought, “Here is my baby, 19 years old, and I still get to be the mom. I get to help soothe her pain. I get to help her hobble to her room. I get to help her undress and dress for bed. I get to help her rest and feel comfortable. I get to love her as only a mom can.”

O Lord, how I thank you that I get to be mom. I get to love as mom. And I have YOU to thank for it all.

As I walked out of her room, I did my regular night time routine … turning off the lights, locking the doors, and blessing my home. As I walked down the hall, I heard her talking to her boyfriend reassuring him she was going to be ok. I walked past Hailey’s room, thanking God for how she wants to help the homeless this year and she had just told me she feels selfish wanting $100 boots. She was so precious in saying, “I want to round up some friends and we take things to people who just need to be encouraged.” Then I walk into my room, I see a man who just enjoyed skyping his daughter and, well, we all did! Had such good laughs as Tyler and her friends were so hilarious! And, we had just hung up the phone just a couple of hours earlier to check on Trace who was busy painting one of his customers cabinets while trying to fight a cold. It had been a full evening with so much to be thankful for because ….

Jesus paid it all.

All to Him I owe.

Sin had left a crimson stain.

He washed it white as snow.

I’m thankful this morning for my Savior and the perfect Lamb that He is.

I’m thankful for my family and for their lives that are created in God’s Image for His glory.

I’m thankful for my friends who are like family because they bless me too much.

I’m thankful for my husband who lives to love, care and serve.

And I’m thankful most of all for …… the nails!!

The nails that changed my life! Changed the life of the world!

Nails that had eternity in them … and nails that spoke the final decree!

It is finished!! 

So, when we look to the Word of God and read all about our life hidden in Christ, our life complete in Christ, our life imitating Christ, our life used by Christ, our life marked by Christ and our life of eternal glory with Christ…let’s thank Him for the powerful truth of this –

It was no small nail.

It was the nail of LIFE! The nail of HOPE! The nail of JOY! The nail of PEACE! The nail of GRACE! The nail of MERCY!

It was the nail of GOD!

 

 

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lisa rippy

9 Comments

  1. Libby Williams on November 17, 2015 at 5:05 pm

    Oh my goodness. This is so powerful! I’m so sorry Samantha had to experience that excruciating pain. What truth came out of that experience. It made me cry to think of no small nail….I will never get over the truth of His nails. I love you so!

    • Lisa Rippy on November 17, 2015 at 8:48 pm

      Libby, I just wasn’t prepared for what He was going to reveal this morning and through the whole experience, but I will never get over this truth either. He is so loving and so amazing to have packaged all of His REDEEMING GOODNESS in a nail. Jesus chose them….He chose them because He loves us and He loves His Father. I pray for such a love to be poured through me, don’t you? I love you so much too!!

  2. Natalie Pittman on November 17, 2015 at 5:07 pm

    Love this! Love how your life events, creativity, and love for God’s word combine and pour out for us to share.

    • Lisa Rippy on November 17, 2015 at 8:49 pm

      We worship such an awesome God, Natalie, and it’s all to His glory! Love you my sister!!

  3. Misty Jabour on November 18, 2015 at 1:08 am

    Oh, wow…love this!! POWERFUL!! Hope Samantha is on the mends!!

    • Lisa Rippy on November 18, 2015 at 9:59 am

      She sure is Misty…thank you! How are you girl? I sure miss you!!

    • Lisa Rippy on November 24, 2015 at 2:19 pm

      She is Misty! Thank you for praying for her!

  4. Rebekah Branham on November 28, 2015 at 1:14 am

    Wow, thank you for sharing this. Thank you.
    The other day, as I was pondering the story of Abraham about to slay his son that you shared, I realized something new. I was trying to imagine that potent, intense moment when Abraham raised his knife, fully intending to kill Isaac. God stopped Abraham from killing his only son to be a sacrifice, but God actually did slay His only Son to be our sacrifice. The Scripture says that in Abraham’s day, they named the mountain, “The Lord will provide,” and He did provide in a way that no one could have ever imagined on that very mountain.
    Interesting how Abraham had the thought that God would raise Isaac from the dead, since the promise was to be fulfilled through Isaac. And God did raise Jesus from the dead.

    • Lisa Rippy on November 30, 2015 at 1:13 pm

      Powerful truth right there! Thank you for sharing…and keep on! How the Spirit is speaking to you is blessing us all!

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