When Life Leaves Scars

We’ve all had something scar us. Whether it be a visible scar etched on our skin or an internal scar that is engraved our heart, we’ve all had something that left an imprint on us, allowing us to never be the same again. Maybe you’ve had your scars continually reopened time-after-time, never seeming to fully heal? Let me take a moment and put a different spin on how you can use your deep scars for something of worth.

Since I was quite young I’ve grown up with a scar on my face. It all happened when my sister and I got in an argument one evening. I honestly can’t remember what it was even about, probably something super silly and utterly ridiculous. Anyways, she ended up pushing me into a laundry basket and one of the wooden pieces of the basket dug into my face. It bled for hours, my mom sitting with me until it finally stopped. As I grew up, I didn’t think much about it and I’ve had it so long that I often forget it’s even there.

Recently a friend pointed out my scar while we were chatting and asked what happened to my face. I told the story, chuckling as I was explaining it, and left the conversation not thinking much more about it. The next time I took a look at my face in the mirror, I grew self-conscious about having that scar exposed on my face. It’s all I could seem to see. I felt flawed and defective. I didn’t want someone to look at me and see a scar from my past, defining me by my imperfection.

Often times we view scars as something we want to hide or stuff beneath the surface. We live in a society where if we’re struggling with something, we put on a mask to hide the pain and appear that everything is okay. If we have a blemish, we glob on tons of makeup, so nobody will notice. We try to hide who we are because we don’t think we measure up.

While we may have physical scars imprinted on our skin, often times the deepest scars are inscribed on our hearts. They’re deep below the surface where most people can’t see. Deep wounds that may have healed, but we are left with the permanent mark of how they changed us.

While I do often feel insecure about both my internal and external scars, I don’t want to hide them because I know they are a part of me, making me unique. My scars may not be pretty or attractive, but they reveal who I am and what God has brought me through.

Jesus used His scars to reveal to His disciples who He was. He wasn’t afraid to hide His scars, but used them to remind them how much He went through, and who He was. His scars weren’t something He felt defined by negatively, but He used them to show God’s glory in an amazing way. He didn’t desire to have a flawless appearance, but displayed His scars so we could relate to His humanity.

While our scars don’t measure up to the scars Jesus had, I do believe God desires us to view them in the same way. Your scars make up who you are. Maybe you have some deep wounds from your past that left a scar on your heart? Maybe you have imperfections that cause you to feel flawed? You don’t need to hide them, but rather accept your scars as unique characteristics that shape and mold you into who God created you to be. You may view scars as negative wounds, but God sees them as milestones that show how far you’ve come. Scars can be used as great reminders of how God has worked in your life and in your heart.

With each scar that causes your heart to break, you can grow to know the character of God on a deeper level by trusting in Him. He’s using the very things that caused you suffering to be created into a beautiful masterpiece. A masterpiece to the world may look imperfect and flawed, but to our Creator, we are intentional and perfectly created.

You may feel imperfect, scarred and flawed, but God purposefully selected the very scars He wanted you to have to shape and mold you into the perfect masterpiece that could only be you!