Scars

Scars tell stories. Stories of pain, clumsiness, danger. They are reminders of when things have gone awry in the past. Some are amusing and entertaining, others are simply painful. But no matter what the stories evolve into, they all start in the same place. They all start with pain.

The scar up the side of my leg tells the story of the time that I had an unfortunate run-in with a pick axe. The blob of distorted skin on my knee is from that one time I was visiting my eldest sister in Philadelphia when I was probably 7 or 8 and I tripped on the sidewalk. Those white lines there above my knee? Those were the work of an overly enthusiastic dog. That one shaped like an ice cream cone/Santa's head/speech bubble is the reminder of the best vacation I ever had. The streak across my pointer finger is reminiscent of touching a hot frying pan.

Physical healing is amazing. Days and days go by of new skin cells forming and overtaking the old damaged ones. Then one day, the pain is gone...no more stinging, itching, burning. All that's left is the faint reminder. And the story.

Emotional pain and scars are a different story. That is a healing process that is very much hidden, not seen by the eye, only felt by the heart. When a heart is broken, it leaves a scar, and that scar tells a story, and that story starts with pain. But the pain needs time to heal, often times more time than an external scar.

The realm of broken hearts is a dangerous one indeed. We would prefer to avoid the pain, speed up the process, and lure ourselves into a false sense of healing. There's one good day when you don't feel the brokenness and you hope against all hopes that it is gone for good. And because you can't see it, you try to believe it. Until the next day when the pain creeps up again, and your heart feels like it's being broken all over again.

Healing is an amazing thing. To be able to look back at pain, and not feel it's sting anymore, but simply acknowledging it's presence and influence on your life. Some wounds seem like they will never heal, but given time and love, anything is possible.
 
In the end, when the pain starts to fade, you are left with an opportunity for maturity and growth, a lesson learned, and of course, a story.