Cone of Protection
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“But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.” Psalm 5:11 NIV
My dog, Annie, now has a plastic collar better known as the “cone of shame.” Her paw is infected and needs air to heal, but she will not stop licking it. So she wears the cone of shame for all to see. She bumps into walls and furniture trying to maneuver around the house. I have had to put a boot on her paw and take the cone off so she can eat, drink, and go outside. She looks so pitiful and uncomfortable. Her eyes are sad with pain. I know this is necessary to heal her paw. It is temporary but necessary.
As I look at Anne trying to sleep on her blanket with her plastic collar, I think of how similar we are to Annie with our own “cones of pain.” Most are invisible to others. The “cone” keeps us focused only on ourselves and all we see and feel is our pain and the overwhelming situation and misery. The focus of our life is survival in the pain or situation. Annie is self-focused too. When she is wearing the collar, she is not aware of what is around her. She is whimpering in her own pain.
The hurt and pain of our life gets in the way of living fully in the present. There are a variety of “cones” we wear that cause emotional pain. The cone of anxiety focuses on everything in the future – the worry of how we will get all the tasks done and how they will turn out and if we will please all those involved. We have tunnel vision and only see everything in the future without living in the moment and enjoying the present. The cone of anger focuses only on what or who caused the hurt without looking inward and processing the pain and releasing it. The cone of being overwhelmed causes the pain of feeling like you are responsible for everything and everyone’s happiness. You are exhausted but fear you will let someone down if you do not focus on doing everything perfectly in the next month. Oh, there are so many more cones we place around us – the cone of fear, hurt, grief, loneliness, and the list goes on and on.
What if we changed the cone to a positive? It could be a cone of protection. The cone protects Annie from herself and allows her paw to heal. Annie has begun to lay her head down in the cone and lay on her blanket and rest. She no longer can reach her paw nor see it, so she rests. She only sees what the cone allows her to which is what is right in front of her and not her paw. What if we just lived right in front of us?
The cone could represent God’s protection in our pain. Just like I am protecting Anne so she can heal, God protects us by reminding us to live in His Presence and not focus on the worries and fears of this world. It also reminds us when we are in pain and filled with sorrow, we can only deal with small amounts of reality at a time. Then God protects us until we are strong and have healed more. Soon the protection may not be visible, but we are healing and learning not to keep chewing on the hurt and re-opening the wound. Our awareness of God’s protection and Presence becomes our focus, not the pain and hurt.
When Annie’s cone comes off permanently, her paw will be healed, and the hope is that she will leave her paw alone and not cause the paw to hurt. God’s protection never leaves us, but He releases us to live within His guidance. Sometimes, even when we have experienced His constant care and protection, we venture on our own feeling we can handle life without recognizing or accepting His guidance and continued protection.
Because we have experienced pain, sorrow, hurt or loss, and God has been our protection, it affirms we need God’s protective care even in the good times. Even when we think we got it. I can get lost on my own and revert back to unhealthy ways like my dog and focus on a past hurt and open a wound that has been healed and released. Keep your focus daily on God’s protective care. Sometimes, God protects us from our own self when we desire to handle it by ourselves. God loves you and walks with you. Allow God’s protection to surround you.
