Scar – mark left by the healing of injured tissue; mark or
indentation resulting from damage or wear (Merriam Webster)
I’ve been thinking about healing quite a bit lately and
gratefully experiencing it in amazing ways. Ironically, it was a recent injury
that brought this to my attention. I was cooking dinner a few days ago and
burned my arm. While tending to it, I had somewhat of an epiphany. I actually
took a trip down memory lane as I examined my entire body and listened to my
scars speak.
There are three scars in particular that speak volumes to my
spirit:
1.)
A burn mark on the back of my leg (I accidentally
backed into my father’s motorcycle and my leg brushed up against the exhaust
pipe)
2.)
A iron burn on my arm (let’s just say this was
due to an "incident" with my older sister)
3.)
A scar on my ankle (I was riding on the handlebar of my cousin’s bicycle after my father just told me not to and my foot got
caught in the spokes)
These three incidents are examples of some of the ways we experience
injury in life. The first is representative of life happening. There are things we may
experience and there is no real rhyme or reason to it, no real answers for it.
It's not anyone's fault in particular, sometimes accidents happen. The second is injury at the hands of another. What I’ve learned to realize and accept
is that people can only love and give according to their experiences. Sometimes
their own lives limit them and they cannot be or do what we would like. This
does not diminish the injury, but it is sometimes the explanation for the injury. However, God does have a way of sending others
in our lives whose presence and gifts of love and grace overshadows the bad
memories of those who hurt us. The third is a result of our own actions. When
we know better, we should do better, but it is not always the case. There are
times when the only person to blame for the pain we feel is the “man or woman
in the mirror.” We received warning, had a feeling that perhaps we should not
make a certain choice, but we did it anyway.
Each of these injuries brought about pain,
tears and loud cries. These all happened when I was young and not afraid to
cry. These cries were all addressed by someone
who came to my aid in time of need. We get older and are told that big girls
don’t cry or that men don’t cry. Nothing
could be further from the truth. Tears are a necessary release of emotion and
pain that can keep us stifled, stagnant and scornful. Cries are an alarm to
those that love and care for us that something is wrong. Unfortunately, we are conditioned to believe that it’s best to keep
our pain/fear/hurts from others. Unfortunately, we don’t let others see our
scars. We are afraid of judgment. Well, I
now have another take on this issue. I believe my scars are a sign of triumph
for they represent victory over pain and hurt. So as it is in the natural, so
it is in the spirit realm. Some may look at my scars in disgust or pity, but I
look at them and now smile. While the scars still remain, the pain no longer
exists. I realize there is healing in the scabbing over. While it looks ugly to
some, it appears to me as a beautiful sign of recovery. I pray you too can
learn to rejoice and let your scars speak for themselves. There's a story of victory, if we listen closely and look through a different lens.
Abounding in Love and Growing in Grace,
Veronica
