Scars
By John W. Vander Velden
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiOQ0gN4YHHgHGw5f78DC9buOqFlmxnQwcD7brLvPT2zYWRbx708_X3kJ8yb7v8y0pYFcU72lhOVKcFZD7A1lT7knPpw_yU_rbtnsb_fBpKCKY3LmPBTEMWODH6sjh-G27cZjMGeumXwA/s400/Scars_B+%2528800x628%2529.jpg)
Yet not all scars can be
seen. As we tread on life’s way we have
been cut many times. Cut by others in
ways they themselves might not have realized, but those wounds often leave
scars. We are social animals moving
among so many others, and not all our interactions have been positive. Just as we cannot travel through life without
bumps and bruises, cuts and scrapes of our flesh, we are unable to live without
being cut in the invisible places.
Places deep within our heart.
Often those hidden marks take longer to heal than a busted knuckle. Sometimes those injuries require years to
scab over and become the scars we can live around.
But those thoughtless
acts, or deliberate cruelties need not define us. It takes time and effort to prevent those
pains from making us damaged goods. To
prevent deep cuts to our hearts from becoming long festering wounds that affect
who we become. We must not allow the
words or actions of others to shape how we value ourselves or how we deal with those
around us.
Too easy to lash out, to
treat others as we feel we have been treated.
So difficult to reach inside to find the strength to forgive, but only
forgiveness can cut out the rotting infected parts of our hearts. We understand the freedom of the forgiven, but there is the other side,
the side most often unrecognized, that is healing of the forgiver.
Each of us carry many
scars. But just as the old wound mark on
my foot does not prevent me from walking, a forgiven wound, that has scarred my
heart, should not prevent me from caring.
You see I believe those scarred most deeply can, with God’s help, understand and
love others more completely. You see
scars are part of life…part of the growing…part of the learning. Marks seen and unseen that make us who we
are. Each scar a bit of our own personal
history…things common yet unique.
As I consider my scars, I
do not dwell upon the time of injury’s pain, but place my thoughts on how I
have been changed…hopefully for the better.
Healing may leave scars…but scars are a symbol of healing. They may not be pretty, but we should not be
ashamed of them either. For we are all
scarred, cut in so many different ways.
Let us thank God for scars…the healed wounds…and do our best to notice
and help others recover from the cuts they may have received. That with our aid
and understanding their wounds heal completely and in the end be only scars.
(516 Words) 9-14-2015
No comments:
Post a Comment