There is an important distinction between curing and healing. Curing is the great gift that sometimes comes to us from God through medical care, the love and suppot of others, and the mystery of prayer. We recover: the cancer goes into remission; blood begins to flow more freely through our body; the bones are knit back together; diabetes and blood pressure come under control. We recover; we experience cure. But, curing is not always possible.
We can be healed, even when we can’t be cured. We can experience wholeness, even when we can’t experience recovery. Healing has to do with relationships—with supporting and being supported, with loving and being loved, with forgiving and being forgiven.
Healing has to do with freedom from fear, shame, and guilt. It flows from our knowing that nothing can take us out of God’s hands, that God accepts and loves us like we are even as God works to make us what we can be, and that we have been forgiven of all our wrongs. Healing has to do with being at peace inside our own minds and hearts, at peace with God, at peace with our neighbors. Healing can be ours, even when curing eludes us.
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