For this week’s Worship Wednesday, Muriel shares how we are shaped by our scars.
Shaped by our Scars
by Muriel Gregory
“This. Is. Hard.” The whispered words felt heavy on my mommy’s heart. My baby girl was two thousand miles away. The army had taken us to our next adventure, and she stayed back to finish college.
Her sobs pierced my soul. Her heartache was palpable. I longed for earlier days when healing came easy. I wanted to hold her, erase the pain, and kiss the anguish away. The only comfort I could offer was my words, and they fell flat.
No advice or well wishes were going to take this away. This one was going to leave a scar.
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”
The words from my morning devotion jumped off the page. I paused and prayed; giving Him all my worries and cares as well as hers. Praying was all I had.
Parenting is hard.
From the moment my kids were born, I felt inadequate. I am sure that I am not alone. (Please do tell me I am not alone!) Parenting books had helped me with teething remedies and potty training tips. Good friends and seasoned moms walked me through the terrible twos and the teenage angst.
I had cleaned up puke, mended clothes, and bandaged wounds. Yet nothing prepared me for that day. I had nothing to offer.Â
Yes. This one would leave a scar.
“Heal her. Comfort her. Mend her heart.” My prayer was left on the altar of mercy. I prayed for her but also realized that I too needed the loving embrace of the Father.
“Are you bruised? Be of good comfort, He calls you. Conceal not your […] wounds. Open all before Him and go to Christ […]. There is more mercy in [Him] than sin in you.” Richard Sibbes penned those words in the17th century. They still ring true today. When we come to Him, we are in good company. After all, He “was despised and rejected – a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.” Isaiah 53:3 NLT.
Our failures do not define us.Â
The toughness of the lesson, the cost of the sin, the depth of the heartache will only emphasize the great comfort and love that our perfect Father provides.
My own soul and heart hold many scars. I expose most of them to a grieving world as a testimony of God’s reckless love and relentless pursuit of me.
Strangely, this walk down the memory lane of my failures and hurts provided the comfort I needed.Â
Yes, this one would leave a scar.
But we all have scars.
In the hands of a loving Savior, my scars morph from a badge of shame into hope for glory.
“This life is a battlefield,” I tell her. “It will leave some scars.”
A football player knows better than to stay on the ground when tackled. A scientist knows better than to quit when the experiment fails. They dust off and get back in the game.
Toby Mac wrote the song Scars for his son, who was leaving for college. I get a lot of peace and encouragement from the lyrics. I hope you will too.Â
Our scars do not define us. They shape us. Experts should write this in parenting books, too.
Listen to Toby Mac’s song, Scars, and be encouraged as his lyrics lovingly remind us we are shaped by our scars and that God uses them to shape us into his Son’s image.
If you need prayer for a particularly difficult season, the Planting Roots prayer team would be honored to pray for you by name. Simply submit your request on our Prayer Request Page.
