Scars like badges

The anatomy of a scar. It's a beautiful thing. It's not by happenstance that when we are wounded we hurt, we bleed, then we heal; yet a scar almost always remains to remind us of what happened. The deeper the wound, the longer the healing process. God has beautifully orchestrated the journey of pain and scarring. I think it's human nature to run from pain fearing what it might make us feel and all the while we are missing one of the most influential parts of our God-given lives. It's important to get to the place where the sting is gone, but the scar remains.

The first thing God required of the children of Israel once He delivered them into the Promised Land was to set up a memorial to all they had experienced on their journey. He wanted them to remember Him as their deliverer and to remember how they got to where they were at that moment. God wants the same from each of us. He wants us to recognize Him as our deliverer, not hide our pain. People that choose to bury their hurts aren't coping with the infliction and they will never scar because the wound will stay fresh and reopen again and again. Years will pass and their pain will multiply out of their original wound.

There is an order to all things in God's creation and the healing of pain is no different. We are made to experience pain, but we are also made to heal. I cannot explain to you why it feels so much better to hold on to the pain, but I can tell you it only feels better for a moment. Then the pain takes root and begins to devour other areas of your life you had no intention of losing.

I am a woman that wears many scars and I thank God for every one of them. I'm not willing to hide them, because they are just as much a part of me as anything else. I pray constantly that God not let me forget where I came from and to keep the scars visible enough to keep me humble. He never lets me down. When I look at my scars, I don't see all the pain I have experienced. I see every victory God delivered on my behalf. I could hang my head and hide away holding on to all that my past holds. But I won't. I will hold my head high and walk forward into all God has for me wearing every scar like a badge.