There I stood, anticipating something good…wearing white shorts. Boom! Totally unexpected, the frozen yogurt machine blew chocolate polka dots all over me. I was a mess. I couldn’t wait to go clean up, bleach it out, and look like I had it all together.

One day, my daughter brought a piece of her artwork home from school. It was a beautiful, colorful picture of flowers that she had painted. There was one flaw that bothered her. On the clean, white background was a splash of brown watercolor paint. As I looked for the white out and prepared to blot it out, she told me the story of the boy next to her who had splashed paint onto her perfect picture. As she described the scene, I imagined the cheerful, animated little boy painting and splashing next to her. The more I heard, the more we smiled. I didn’t want to blot out the spot anymore. The imperfection reminded me of my daughter’s story of creating her picture. But not every stain or scar reminds us of a happy event.

Scars? I have quite a few. They are the result of scary, difficult times in my life. They remind me of things that I wish I didn’t have to endure. I have scars on the inside too. The result of wounds and events from the past that I sometimes wish had never happened. We often want to hide these imperfections and the events that created them. But they tell a story. Mine also remind me of the times my family and friends held my hand during  medical procedures, the times my church prayed with me when I faced cancer and rejoiced at the news that it had not spread.  I also remember late night phone calls and words of encouragement during the dark days of divorce and years of single parenthood. And woven through it all is the story of  the faithfulness of God who gave me strength to go on.

When we are honest and real about our imperfections and struggles, we can begin to heal and move on. If we project an image of perfection, we are unapproachable. But, when we share our stories of struggle, mistakes and healing, God can use them to give hope and encouragement to others.

“And now I still got bruises,

And scars don’t lie

But they’re the proof that

I got a second chance at life”

Into The Light – Matthew West