Scars that heal

I have this one scar that is ever present on my wrist. I will often catch a glimpse of it and immediately remember the time when I was cooking with a hot baking stone about 18 years ago. As I was putting my arm into the oven, my wrist hit the scorching inside wall. Let's just say it was an incident that was not easy to forget - I remember it like it was yesterday.

As with physical scars, we have also acquired emotional scars in our journey. By definition a scar is "a mark on the skin or within body tissue where a wound, burn or sore has not healed quite completely and fibrous connective tissue exists".  There are times in life where the fall is harder and the scar is greater or more noticeable and obvious. Some scars we get from childhood accidents, like learning to ride a bike. Maybe your dad or mom pushed you from the curb on that bike and then let go, causing you to fall - creating some minor scrapes or bruises. For most of us, despite the necessary pain associated with the experience, learning to ride a bike and falling is a happy memory.
  

But some wounds in life we carry on us were created by unpleasant incidents or accidents, or even deep emotional pain. We may even have scars that we are unaware of - scars that affect us internally. We can choose to ignore them or cover them up, which would cause 'scar tissue buildup', or we can choose to learn from them. Every time we look at them and remember the incident we have a choice to create good in our lives and to others from what we have learned. Just like a scar or wound that does have scar tissue, the physical therapist will have you exercise that area so that the scar tissue works itself out and heals. The same is for emotional scaring. We have to exercise it out, we have to work through the pain to not have a build up of issues and bitterness or resentment in our hearts but be healed.

Jesus, God's son himself was wounded for us. He has the ultimate amount of scars for our benefit. He understands all wounds, all pain, all scars that you may have because he himself went through even torture to show His love for us in unlimited, has no limit.  In Isaiah 53:5 it says " But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities (sin); the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds (stripes) we are healed" . So not all wounds in life I learn from this, are bad. Without Jesus’ sacrifice and his wounds and scars we would not have our own forgiveness and life in him. His suffering bought life, light and joy to this world.  What can you and I do in our lives with the sufferings , whether good or bad that have happened to us to change the world? How can we take the pain from them and give the gift of mercy, understanding and a blessing to others in pain today? 

In 2 Corinthians 1:2-5 it says “Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of compassion and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed , it is for your comfort and salvation; in we are comforted it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort."

So let's make use of the not so good scars, wounds and distresses we have to bring joy, hope and healing to people around us.