I was looking in the mirror today as I guess most normal people do when they wash their hands when I noticed two scars above my left eye. Its not that I was surprised or anything, I knew they were there, they've been there for 39 years. I just thought it was funny how days, weeks, and even months go by without me noticing the scars yet they are always there.
I have all kinds of scars; scars caused by falls, scars caused by my carelessness, scars caused by others. Some of my scars are my fault, some were caused by others, and some couldn't be avoided at all. I have scars that I'm proud of (I'm still a little boy inside) and I have some that I'm quite ashamed of. Many of my scars I remember how I got while many more I just don't remember. I remember when I was a kid, I once counted 22 scars on my left knee...and I was proud.
As I was looking in the mirror I realized that these two scars on my head symbolized much more than just a couple of falls when I was a kid. Now I know this probably isn't original thinking and I'm sure someone smarter than me has put this in a much better way but this is me....and these are my scars. As I looked in the mirror God showed me how there are other scars that we have other than physical. These emotional scars are much like my scars; some we cause, some others caused, and some were just unavoidable. The fact is that we all have scars somewhere.
Our emotional scars are much like our physical scars in many ways;
1) We start to forget what caused the scar when the hurt goes away. With many scars, there is a pain that remains even when it looks like healing is done. Those are deep scars caused by a deep cut. All too often, we dwell on what caused the hurt rather than the fact that healing has began. All we can feel is the hurt and all we can see is the scar so it is hard to see the fact that God is working and is providing a healing. Sometimes that healing isn't as fast as we would like but inevitably, it comes.
2) Generally speaking, the smaller the scar the smaller the injury and conversely, the bigger the scar, the worse the injury. This is obvious but needs to be pointed out. If you only have a small scar, the injury probably wasn't that bad. In those cases, we shouldn't make a mountain out of a mole hill. Those small injuries heal fast so we shouldn't persecute anyone that caused it as though they had severely injured you.
3) When scars are out of site, we forget about them. Is this so wrong? Is it wrong to forget about the past? To forget about the pain that someone else caused you? I don't think so. What is in the past is in the past and if you have forgiven someone for causing your scar then you shouldn't dwell on it. Let it go.
4) If we can see the scar then we all too often dwell on the past. The fact is that some of our emotional scars are on our face (not literally of course). Unfortunately, some of our scars, usually the worst ones, are right there in the open so we are always reminded of them. We think about them and sometimes we even think that we can still feel pain in them. Certainly when we see them, we remember the pain and we remember how we got it. Sometimes, seeing these scars can fill our hearts with regret; regret about how we got the scar, regret about how we healed, or regret about how we didn't heal.
And usually, the older we were when we got injured, the longer it takes for healing to take place. It's funny how the younger I was when I got one of my scars, the less likely I am to even remember how I got it. I have some really bad scars that I got when I was young and I can hardly remember getting it. Then there are others that I got when I was older. They aren't as big but for some reason, I remember the hurt much more vividly than the bigger scar I got when I was a kid.
Scars, we've all got them. In some way, some form, or some fashion they are there. We live with them. Sometimes we can cover them up and sometimes we can't. Some aren't noticeable and some make a passerby flinch in pain when they see it. But you know what? These are my scars. They are a part of me. They don't define me and I rarely think of them but they are mine. I own them, whether I caused them or not I own them. If I don't own my scars then I believe I would think about them more. If I thought about the injury, I would think about the cause and that opens the door for shame and regret.
The fact is that the devil wants us to remember our shame and regret but as the song says "...I remember oh God you're not done with me yet". And remember, if you have a scar that means it's no longer a scab, God is finishing His work on that injury. Don't let your scars define you and don't let them cause more pain. You have them now and there isn't anything you can do about it. Let them heal and give God the glory.
I love you and God does too!
