The Reason for the Scar

Why does my body have scars? If my body has healed, why can I still see where I was hurt? When will I be free of this memory of my wounds?

I don't remember every wound I have ever experienced, and not every wound has left a scar. With smaller injuries, my body heals completely and moves on, without a sign of what happened. Sometimes, my body experiences such trauma that I am left marked by it for the rest of my life. Some of the scars that I have, I tell stories about. They have become a part of my life, not to remind me of the pain I have experienced, but as a reminder of what I learned by getting, and healing, them. They have healed, and have revealed who I am, and how far I have come. 

I think there is sometimes a misunderstanding about scars - if it still hurts, then it's not a scar yet. There is still healing to be done. 

Scars are not wounds. A scar is a wound that has healed, and HAS LEFT EVIDENCE OF THAT HEALING. And, often, the scar that has grown is made of stronger stuff than was there before. 

Spiritual and emotional scars are the same. 

I don't remember all of the transgressions I have made, or have been made against me. Most of them, my spirit and mind have healed perfectly and they show no sign of the struggle. 

There are experiences in my life, however, that I do still remember. Sins that I have forgiven, and been forgiven for, about which I remember everything. I remember the people, the places, the details that were involved. I still remember them, and I remember the damage that was caused. 

And I know that I have healed from them, because the pain is gone. When I think of these experiences, that is all they are. Experiences. Information. Having healed from them completely, they have been reduce to stories.  

So if I have healed from them, why is their memory so clear? Why are they still a part of me? Why do the scars remain?

Sometimes, the trauma to my spirit is of such magnitude, that I am left with a memory of it, even after it is healed. It is a reminder that I have been hurt, and that I have out-lived the pain.

I am grateful every day for that reminder. Like Paul in the New Testament, "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2 Cor. 12:9)

There is no way for me to undo what I have done, or what has been done to me. I can, and do, heal from every experience. And because everything happens for a reason, there is a purpose for the scars that remain. 

As I said before, every scar is a story that gets to be told, a lesson that I get to share. I have been through a lot, and my scars remind me why I am still standing. They remind me that I am strong, and that I heal from every trauma, every injury. 

I have done things in my life, that while I have healed from them, the people involved have not. The scars from these experiences remind me that restitution is a life-long process, and I am responsible for helping them to heal from their experience with me. 

Things have been done to me, from which I have healed. The scars from these experiences remind me that others have been, or are being hurt, and what I have learned will help them navigate their way out, and gain their own healing.

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If thinking about the experience brings pain, it is still a wound. 

If talking about it hurts, there is still healing to experience. 

Seek out the mentors who can help you. Have those breakthroughs, and release your emotional pain. Let those experiences become the stories you share, and the lessons you teach.

If you have scars, it means you are stronger. You are healed. You have out-lived the pain. 

And others are waiting to hear how you did it.