Proud of the Scars

     So, as we all know, I love music. I'd been hearing both good and bad things about Colton Dixon. I had watched him on Idol and liked him, but hadn't heard any of his CD. I looked him up today and listened to the song "Scars". I love this song now. I love it when a song speaks to me personally, and this is one of those songs. In case you haven't heard it, here are the lyrics:

     "Defeated, wasted, broken, bruised. All because of my addictions it left me crying and confused. It cut right through my religion, my good intentions. Disregarded, overlooked, sinking lower and lower. The shame erased my name and took my face and made it like the others. Would I recover? Today’s another day to learn from my mistakes, knowing that we’re not forsaken. And they give life to where we’ve been, when we fall and start again, scars remind us who we are. Self indulgent, death by pride. Forgetting all that I’ve been given, but still You never left my side. Brought back to life, You heal the broken with arms wide open. Today’s another day to learn from my mistakes, knowing that we’re not forsaken. And they give life to where we’ve been. When we fall and start again, scars remind us who we are. I'm aching, I'm breaking. Lord, I'm suffocating. Lord, wake me and save me. Use the abused me, take me and fill me up. Today's another day, forgiven of mistakes, knowing that we're not forsaken. They give life to where we've been. When we fall and start again, our scars remind us who we are."


     When I was maybe seven, my family was helping move another family to a new house. After the men had set up my friend's bunk bed, we were on the top bunk talking. A while later, I stood up on my knees to get off of the bed without realizing that the ceiling fan was running, and it hit me just below the eye. I got a lovely black eye and I have a scar just below my left eye from it. I notice that little scar every day while putting my makeup on and every time I see it, I automatically remember why it's there. Every scar has a story, be it a physical scar or an emotional one. 

     Some scars, we cannot help but notice, while some are more subtle. Some scars are thought of as ugly or distracting from beauty or "perfection".  (This goes for physical and emotional scars.) Our scars,  though, when we really think about them, can reveal to ourselves and everyone else something about who we are. Just think about it for a second. Pick a physical scar, and think about how you got it. What were you doing? Did you cry? Did you let the slip-up that caused the scar stop you from trying again? Just those three questions can tell you quite a bit about yourself. They can reveal how mischievous you were at the time, how brave you were, or how much you let messing up on something affect you.

     Before I go any farther, I guess I should explain what I mean by emotional scars. To me, an emotional scar comes from something in our past that we struggle to let go of. Be it a fear, a discontentment,  or a heartbreak, it is something that is just as present in our minds as our physical scars are on our bodies. An emotional scar is a memory of something gone wrong. While they no longer hurt us, they haven't completely gone away. Our emotional scars are typically much more easily concealed, and I think most of us prefer it that way. Our emotional scars, though, are such a beautifully important part of who we are. Those are the scars that truly show where we have been and how far we have come. Those are the scars that work together to make us the unique and beautiful people that we are. Nobody has the same fears, insecurities, or hurts for the same reasons that you do. While someone might appear to have the same "scar" as you, it's more than likely that the circumstances behind it are completely different. 

     To me, our scars are something to be proud of. A scar is a wound that has been closed up. While it is still present, it does not hurt us anymore. A scar is proof that we can heal! When the scar beneath my eye was actually a cut, surrounded by black bruise, it hurt and I was very aware of it. Time healed that wound, just as God has healed and is constantly healing my emotional wounds. I am proud of my scars because they are a promise to me that cuts heal and bruises fade. Because of my scars, I am reminded that what hurts me now won't always hurt me. God will heal what hurts me when He sees it fit, just as He has always done. So I will celebrate my scars, because my imperfections make me beautiful to Him.    I am proud of my scars because they glorify my Healer. I am proud of my scars because they show how far I have come in Him and how much hurt He has helped me leave behind. 



P.S. The link to "Scars" is on the Song of the Day page!

Comments