Because I’m an active person, I have scars. The more adventurous the life, the more accidents! Each scar tells a story—like the time I crashed a motorcycle going 45 mph—and reminds me that I’m living life to the fullest. I have a forever road tattoo on my left elbow from the motorcycle crash. Other scars I have came from less glamorous circumstances, like the time I stepped into a fire ant nest. OUCH!
Yes, scars are a part of life. Scars are wounds that healed; they no longer hurt, and hopefully we learned a valuable lesson from them…like not riding a motorcycle way out of my comfort zone on the open road.
Unfortunately, many of us are walking around with open emotional wounds. Instead of letting them heal, we constantly pick at them. Past wounds, disappointments, and even fears fester and get infected. And as a result, they still hurt us, and they prevent us from moving forward. It is time for us to turn those wounds into scars!
Healing a wound requires we give it attention. We must first understand where the wound came from and then treat it properly. Some need lots of prayer while others require forgiveness. You may need a counselor or support group for the long-term hurts you’ve been harboring. Whatever it takes, I encourage you to peel back the band aid and treat your wounds before you lose a limb.
Scars don’t hurt, but they may not fade. We are forever changed by many of our old injuries, and they become a part of who we are. We just need to be careful not to let them define us. As we look at our scars, we can tend to focus on what we lost because of them. We must remember that for everything we have lost, we have gained something else. I believe this is the lesson Harry Potter learned when he finally let go of yearning for his parents and embraced his destiny. His scar reminded him of all the good he was given and gave him strength to do good.
I have some incredibly large scars from my battle with Lyme disease. You may not see them, but they are very real. For far too long, I’ve been reminded of all that the disease robbed from me: my youth, health, children, business ventures, energy, and peace. If I continue to see the loss, then the disease continues to destroy my life. I’ve been working very hard on celebrating my scars. I am alive! I am walking when I was told I would be in a wheelchair, and I am living an active lifestyle despite the deformities it created. Every warrior has scars, so let us be proud of ours and the victories they represent! Let’s turn those wounds into scars and move on to much better days.
