My dream is to one day write a book. I’m unsure of the title but I’m leaning towards what my Dad has always said to me ‘Nothing Is EVER too broken for God’. The other options at the moments are: Journey with God – scars and all; Love – by this they will know that you are my disciples; My story isn’t over yet; Thank you for the scars I bear; and, But wait…..there’s more – until we see Him face to face.
First draft of my introduction …
Everyone has a story. And the thing I love is that you and I haven’t yet written the last chapter! That alone is hope. It brings choices. I always loved adventure books when I was a child, where you are able to choose where to from here? They remind me so much of our lives. We have a choice from this day; are we going to live in the first chapters of our story - a chapter that we may find ourselves in that is not pretty, or are we going to change direction and make a choice to step into a new chapter, and choose how this story will end? If you don’t like the chapter you are in, write a new one. That’s sounds too easy for reality, however, I believe if you write with God, your story will be amazing! Your last chapter will be the absolute best!
There’s a wonderful quote written by Terrist Cloud saying, ‘She could never go back and make some of the details pretty. All she could do was move forward and make the whole beautiful.’ Some of the details of my life have been so pretty! In fact, I am so blessed. I have had so many good people and things in my life. I love this quote though because, you know you may think that you have a bad past, you don’t have to have a bad future. That is the beauty of our God! You don’t want the very last chapter of your story to be defined by your past. Remember they are lessons we learn, never a life sentence. Let me tell you, that your present situation is not your last chapter. The best of your story is yet to come! Praise the Lord, hey!
I have a scar on my foot from a childhood incident, and no doubt, I probably have a few itchy bite scars, I have scars on my body! I have scars on the inside too. I have baggage! I have issues! I wish I didn’t! I wish I could say that I became a Christian and my path was smooth sailing. We live in a fallen world. We are all human, I have made some crap choices that have left scars, and I have had others who have made some crap choices that left me with scars. A well-known Australian Pastor, Blake Young says, “A scar is healing that has left a mark resulting in the damaged area being stronger than it was before’. He also believes that we seem to live in a culture where we are trying to hide scars as they leave a negative connotation. We have a fear of telling our story as we think people won’t accept us. And unfortunately, sadly, that can be so very true. How quickly do people forget how far they once fell and how quickly they forget how much God did for them. We live in fear of our stories because of distrust, doubts, shame and guilt.
“There is NO condemnation for those who love Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)
Pastor Blake says fear leaves it a wound and robs you of the beauty of your battle scars. We need to share our scars to let people see that God loves us! If we don’t we could be ripping people off to see who Jesus is. This world needs some people that have gone through some stuff and who have experienced God’s healing. Your scars can be your greatest weapon because people can see what you’ve gone through and see who you are now. Why did Jesus choose to keep his scars? He rose from the dead, surely filling in some holes wouldn’t be such a big deal from the creator of the universe. He was perfect, yet he was scared. Thomas wouldn’t have believed unless he had seen the scars. (John 20:27). Jesus allowed him to examine his scars.
Pastor Blake Young inspires us to think about the battlefield. Who do you want to follow into battle? I want to follow someone who has some battle scars, showing they have been through something and I want to know that I too can get through it. I think we would all agree with that. We are so busy hiding our scars and that’s the very thing that can bring freedom to other people. It can give people courage to say, ‘Wow you did that? You experienced that? God brought you out of that? WOW!’ Not until people see our holes do they believe. Thomas attached his faith in Jesus to His scars.
You know I have been broken, hurt, betrayed, abused, anxious, depressed , and I have been judged, have known heartbreak, desperation, fear, shame and guilt, and I have missed the mark many times. Many parts have not been the life that I envisioned. Far from it! But I know someone who can and is turning all of that into something so beautiful. My Dad made a speech on his 70th birthday saying, “I am not perfect in anyway. I have made many mistakes in my life. But I know without a doubt that I am loved. Loved by God and loved by my family.” And that is true for me also.
“When I look back on my life, I see pain, mistakes and heartache. When I look in the mirror, I see strength, learned lessons, and pride in myself.” (unknown)
A lot of times we are hiding that very thing that is going to prove that God exists in your world, hiding the very things that will lead people to believe in Him. We are always (guilty) trying to show the Facebook or Instagram version of ourselves. Hiding all the blemishes and imperfections. We are busy putting our best foot forward, but the very thing that people actually need to see, is the ugly side. The fact that God has left evidence of what you’ve gone through is not by accident but by design because He did it to Himself.
It is important however, to share our scars not our wounds. Time is important. Healing is important. Sometimes, people and places are important. It’s unfortunate that many people bleed onto other people with their wounds because they are still in a place of hurt and pain, but there are many people that have gone through a journey of healing that stay silent. I believe our stories have power. I believe God wants us to share our stories in order to see God’s goodness, faithfulness, grace, hope, peace and unfailing love.
I want to share God’s love. I want the broken to know the love of our Father. I want the abused to know how much their Father loves them and cares so deeply for them. I want the anxious and depressed to know that God loves them. I want devastated and heart broken parents to know the peace and hope of our Father. I want sinners to know that Jesus has paid the price and you can choose to turn from your ways and be free.
“I admire people who choose to shine, even after all the storms they’ve been through.” (unknown)
The only qualifications I have to write this is because of the fact that I am flawed. I have made mistakes, many! I am a sinner saved by God’s grace. My own story is not tidy. Nor is it simple. My story has been messy and is still being written. As Toby Mac says, “Your story could be the key that unlocks someone else’s prison. Don’t be afraid to share it.”
I may not do everything right, but I don’t do everything wrong either. I may not be where I need to be, but I’m not where I used to be. I’m okay and I’m on my way! And my heart is to help others be on their way too. Life doesn’t always allow us to go back and fix what we have done in the past, but it does allow us to clean ourselves up, do what we can to make peace and to live each day better than the last.
“A mistake doesn’t become a failure until you refuse to CORRECT it!” (O.A. Battista)
Don’t give up because of one bad chapter in your life. KEEP GOING. Your story doesn’t end here. When I look back at half of mine (the other half is yet to come) I can see God’s love, grace and faithfulness.
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