Scars

Maybe you are one of those people who has a cool scar with a cool story to go along with it.  Most of my scars would just have stupid stories or, even worse, painful ones.  And some scars are easily hidden (physical or otherwise) so when they do come up, they seem to hurt even more.

I have been learning to embrace the scars of my life, realizing that though they may have been painful experiences, they make me me.  It's so weird that people want to lead happy, peaceful lives and somehow we imagine that that means easy and comfortable.  But it's the opposite - it's the hard experiences that build our character and help us realize what we have, that we so easily overlook most days.  If you haven't already, check out the 1000 Awesome Things blog - I have linked my favorite one (on scars, of course!):
1000awesomethings.com/2010/02/04/576-appreciating-the-beauty-of-all-your-bodys-scars-and-scratches

Just before I left Panama last summer, a new pastor shared at the church where we were living.  He talked about a lady battling cancer, having to have surgery and the fact that she was left with a visible scar.  That scar was not only a reminder of her cancer, but just how far she had come since.  Pain sucks - there's no doubt about it.  And I know that it's hard to see beyond that pain and suffering when you're right inside of it.  Words means to much to me and I wish I was better at expressing myself but when I asked my friend what I could do to help her, and her reply was to make the pain go away, all I could get out were tears.  I'm not living her life; the best I can do is walk beside her.  It would be heartless to say that the pain will be worth it at some point, but I really believe that it will be, though now is not the time to say that.  I want to reassure her that there will come a point, maybe a week from now or a month from now or a year from now, where she will be able to look back and see just how far she has come.  And I have no doubt that the struggles she is facing today will make her stronger - it's just hard to look at the scar right now and see anything else.