Scars

A couple weeks ago I sliced my finger open while making dinner. I'm not one to rush to the ER for cuts and scrapes. And being the bull-headed, independent person that I am, I was determined to just take care of it myself. But the truth is, it probably needed a stitch or two. Now, over two weeks later, it's still healing and there is definitely going to be a scar. A constant reminder of my stubbornness. I looked at it the other day and thought about the fact that if I have gone to the doctor and had it stitched, the scar would be smaller and less noticeable.

Here's a truth about life: it hurts! We all get hurt and hurt others at some point. And the blows we receive can be physical or emotional. Sometimes they are at the hands of others and sometimes they are due to the choices that we ourselves made. But how we deal with those hurts will determine the size of the scar that is left behind. Sometimes when things go wrong, we blame God or get angry with Him. But truthfully our hurts can usually be traced back to selfishness, stubbornness or our need for independence. And if we go to God with the hurt and the pain and the bleeding, He will help us heal. That doesn't mean He works magic and makes it all go away. There are still consequences. Healing will still take time. And there will still be scars. But they serve as reminds of lessons we've learned and God's grace along the way.