scar stories

One day in middle school, we were waiting for something and so we had a few minutes with nothing to do.  The teacher asked if anyone had a scar story that they wanted to share.  Students proceeded to share the stories of how they got the scars that they have.

I have two scar stories:
On my left hand, I have a scar on my thumb and a scar on my pointer finger.  Freshman year of college, we were learning how to carve wood.  I was doing so well, and then the knife slipped... That was the end of that hobby.  :)

On the top of my right foot, I have a scar from a rug burn.  It was a pretty intense rug burn that I got last year at camp.  We were on our way to Nature.  Obviously, we needed to pretend to be on a safari on our way from the classroom to Nature.  I was leading the way and all the sudden, we saw a LION and had to hide behind something so that he didn't eat us.  As I dove under the table, I got a rug burn, but that's better than getting eaten by a lion, right?  So worth it.

The other day, and again this morning, I heard this song on the radio:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhVDhUlUX88&feature=related
She holds for dear life to the ends of the sleeves in her hands,
Covering up lies that she wrote with a razor sharp pen,
And the sting of the blade is no match for the pain of the loneliness she's going through,
But we've all been there too.

Praise God we don't have to hide scars
They just strengthen our wounds, and they soften our hearts.
They remind us of where we have been, but not who we are
So praise God, praise God we don't have to hide scars

You can still see the mark on his hand where there once was a ring
He watched decades of history dissolve when she wanted to leave
And the hole that it left there inside of his chest
Is a canyon a thousand miles deep
We all know how that feels.

Praise God we don't have to hide scars
They just strengthen our wounds, and soften our hearts.
They remind us of where we have been, but not who we are
So praise God, praise God we don't have to hide scars

There once was a King who so burdened with grief
Walked into death so that we could find peace
He rose up with scars on his hands and his feet
By them we are healed, by them we are healed.

So praise God we don't have to hide scars
Yeah we know his are covering ours
Praise God we don't have to hide scars
They just strengthen our wounds and they soften our hearts
They remind us of who we have been, but not who we are
So Praise God we don't have to hide scars. 


And as I listened to the words, I was reminded of that day in middle school when we shared scar stories.  And it reminded me of the importance of stories and the importance of sharing our stories with each other.  This summer, I'm realizing this again--as I have been for the past couple of years--as I meet so many new people.  I'm meeting people with incredible stories.  And they share them with me!  I love listening to them and learning from them.  
Scars aren't always physical, although some are.  Scars are also emotional or spiritual or mental.  And those are the scars that are so much easier to hide.  
Scars aren't always sad or hurtful.  I mean, I was having a great time when I got those scars and I would do it all over again.  And now, whenever I see these scars, I have these great memories.  


I think that I resonate so deeply with this song because people have shared their "scar stories" with me--both physical scars and emotional scars.  And when they share, I learn from them about life and about God and about faith and hope and grace.  So, my friends, thank you for your courage in sharing your scar stories.  Thank you for sharing your life, in its joy and its pain.  And I'll sing with the song: Praise God we don't have to hide scars.