I have scars. In fact, to my knowledge, I have three of them. When I was 4, I had just got done watching the Olympic Ice Skaters, and was sure I could do the same thing...in my living room...on carpet....this resulted in me kissing the coffee table with my face, and, my first scar. It got me right smack dab in the middle of my forehead. At 11, I was scrubbing the kitchen floor on my hands and knees and got cut by a piece of glass that had been missed from a broken dish. Then at 16, I decided to go mountain biking at Applegate lake, hit a rock, and flipped down the side of a hill, (gracefully, I'm sure) which cut my leg open. Like I said, I have scars. However, I never really think about them. I don't show them to everyone. I don't think if you've talked to me I've ever introduced myself and said, "Hi, I'm Krista, do you want to see my scars? In no way do they affect my daily life. They are simply just a part of me. A part of me that if someone asks, I can tell a cool little story about.
I say the above, knowing all to well, that not every scar is small and insignificant....or even physical. Some scars can go so deep in a person that, it is all they think about. It does affect their daily life, and no matter how hard they try, when they talk to other people they feel like the only part of them that is showing is their scars. Abuse, abandonment, betrayal, low self worth, insecurity, loneliness, etc.
When you look in the mirror, what do you see? At different times in my life, when I've looked in the mirror, I've seen the blemishes, the mistakes, the not good enoughs. I've felt lonely and afraid, and have not had a lot of hope. It is in those times when it feels like nothing good could possibly come from the situation I'm in, or from the hurt or wound that is there. All I see is ugliness.
That is where the title of this blog comes in. How do you find beauty in scars?
Psalms 147:3 says, "He (God) heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." When you come to that place that says, I'm tired of trying to fix this in my own strength, I can't do this on my own, I need you God, He is there. His Word says that there's healing available to you and I, when we cry out to Him. When you let the Lord begin to work in your life, there will come a time when you'll notice that the hurt and wounds that used to be so tender - so tough - so in your face - aren't the same. The beauty of scars is that they are evidence that there was a wound there at one time, but healing has taken place. What's even more beautiful is when suddenly you see the scars in your life, and realize you have a story to tell. Not like the ones I talked about earlier, but stories that will impact someone else's life because it will bring them hope that they can overcome too.
You were never meant to live as a victim. You are meant to live victoriously! I don't know what you've been through, but I know that whatever the enemy of your soul meant for bad, God can turn to good. Don't be robbed of joy. Look at your wounds for what they are, without minimizing or maximizing them. Then ask the Lord to help you and to heal you. It probably won't happen over night, but with the consistent washing of His word, it will happen. I look forward to hearing your story.
