A Love Song of Scars

The other day I found myself singing a worship song from 10 years earlier.  This song was sung often and it was one that melted my heart in the place of worship.  As the words came out of my mouth, I found myself hesitating on whether or not to continue singing.  The memories of the past, the places where these songs were sang, were touching a place of ache in my heart.  I wanted to stop so I wouldn’t have to feel and remember the season that I miss but I told myself to not hold back, but instead to keep on singing. Singing the songs that were a double-edged sword: a song that led me into a deeper love of my Savior but at the same time a song that reminded me of precious times that will never come back.

John 20:24

“We have seen the Lord!’

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

(I marvel how Jesus loved and lived with real people.)

As I look over the story of my life there are definite days and seasons of sorrow.  One would think that present time and the future would become bitterer as it moved forward, but it hasn’t.  Instead, love has become sweeter, joys deeper and appreciation of those I love greater.  As I look on my family members and my friends, whom I love, and see how age and time is changing and shaping them, I find myself continually captivated by their beauty.  The beauty of who they are, the stories that they carry and I am filled with a desire to see the hopes and dreams that are on their hearts come into reality.  While, I often know the sorrows and regrets of their lives, it is not what I define them by.  While I know I am by far an imperfect being, I wonder, how much more our perfect Heavenly Father feels about us.

John 20:26, 27

A week later…Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands.  Reach out your hand and put it into my side.  Stop doubting and believe.”

I marvel that Jesus kept His scars.  He didn’t erase them, he didn’t hide them.  He acknowledged them and He showed them.  

As I go back to my thoughts from the beginning, I ponder the fact that maybe our scars don’t need to be hidden.  Maybe they need to be acknowledged and shown.  Seeing scars are indeed part of His redemption story.  As we walk through this life, as we fall more and more in love with our Savior, we walk with Him into dark places and dark seasons. We often carry scars from these places, but these scars also tell a story of resurrection.  

May “peace be with you” as you look at your scars.  May love become deeper, may life become sweeter and richer as you share your precious life with the real people whom Jesus loves and lives with still today.

In Christ,