Heal the Wound, Leave the Scar

My young daughter has a scar at the top of her rib cage, just under her right arm. Sometimes I'll go for weeks, even months, forgetting that it's there. Then, in a moment, I'll catch a glimpse of it. And, in that moment, it's like I'm transported back in time.

I can see the doctor, in his turquoise scrubs, informing me that my four-year-old must have emergency lung surgery or very likely die. I can hear her small, weak voice asking me to please...please lay with her on the gurney. I remember the hospital hallway lights flickering on her fevered face as they wheeled the two of us down to the operating room. I can remember stroking her hair, telling her in the calmest voice I could muster that everything was going to be all right.

Three years later, you would never know that my laughing, dancing little girl went through that ordeal. But I remember it. I remember it when I see the scar.

I thought about that last night as I attended the kick-off concert for the Point of Grace/Selah tour and heard a powerful song from POG called "Heal the Wound." The chorus (you can hear it here) goes like this:

Heal the wound, but leave the scar
A reminder of how merciful you are
I am broken, torn apart,
Take the pieces of this heart and
Heal the wound, but leave the scar.

My daughter's scar is a reminder of her ordeal but, much more, it's a reminder of God's mercy and faithfulness in our lives during those weeks. The song last night reminded me that scars aren't just physical. So many of us have wounds from our lives, some fresh and some old. Have you asked the Lord to heal that wound? He will. Then thank Him for the scar. Thank Him everytime you remember His unfailing love.

Comments

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1. Rachael said the following at 5:19 PM on Feb 14:

Thank you Heather, for the nice post. There's something about remembering what God has done; I'm reminded of this through Scripture, but really need to actually...do it. Isn't it wonderful that the feelings we have when reflecting upon the scars aren't the same as they were when going through the difficult time? Here's an Augustine quote I like:

"...the remembering is far different than the experiencing. Without rejoicing, I remember the joys I once felt. Without renewed sorrow, I recollect past sorrows. I can review old fears without being afraid and remember what I once wanted without desire. In reflecting on some memories, I now feel the opposite emotion I felt then" (p. 151 , The Confessions of St. Augustine, Modern English Version, abbreviated).

It's neat how God blesses us by healing the wound and letting the scars fade...

2. Vanessa said the following at 6:15 PM on Feb 14:

Wow. This is so profound. I haven't heard the POG song, but those lyrics struck a chord with me as well. So many times, I'm surrounded by people who not only demand that God heal them...they demand that He not leave the scar. I thank God for the scars that I have because often they remind me to not go a certain way again.

Thanks for a though-provoking post. I enjoyed it!

3. Theresa said the following at 10:01 PM on Feb 14:

That's a wonderful song. It's exactly what God has done in my life--he has healed horrible wounds, but there are still scars. As there should be. They make me remember.

4. keightie said the following at 10:10 PM on Feb 14:

oh, how strange. I was just thinking about this today in the car, but thinking resentfully about having to carry around scars. Thank you, thank you for this post.

(and the bane of my existence is that whenever I try to write something seriously, it ends up rhyming. My grandma is a poet and it inescapably runs through my blood. At least "car" and "scars" don't match exactly, but still accept my apologies.)

5. James said the following at 1:17 AM on Feb 15:

My heart carries many many scars. However, I would not choose to go back and change those things, as I cannot and the Lord used them to teach me. He cleaned, sewed shut, and bandaged the wound, and healed it. The scar reminds me of what He did and what I went through...and through those things I find that I can feel for people MORE than if I did not have the scar.

Only the empty heart is without scars. It is the tender and vulnerable heart that is so often wounded. I would that my heart would not grow hardened by the scars, but would remain tender, yet wiser.

6. Christina said the following at 6:59 AM on Feb 15:

The hardest part with this is that it requires me to sit down and set myself apart from the entire world for longer than an hour and pour myself out to God and actually ASK for the healing. And asking results in a bigger mess because, just like cleaning your house, it gets a lot messier before it gets better >.<

A weekend doesn't even seem long enough. Perhaps I should go to a retreat center or something.

I've found myself disconnecting lately from God because there are two areas of my life that require me asking for healing but my life simply won't let me go for the amount of time that I need to move past this. I don't want to spend 6 hours in the evening focusing on it and working through it and end up a complete mess for work the next morning and start over again that night. Does that make sense?

7. Stephanie said the following at 11:19 AM on Feb 15:

Thanks for sharing this.

I was just thinking about some of my wounds and scars last night. Sometimes I think they run together. Yes, the wound is healed, but seeing/feeling the scar brings back memories of the pain. I was just wishing that it all would go away.

Now...maybe it will remain as a reminder of God's faithfulness. That's a better way to look at the scars. Thanks...

8. Heather Koerner said the following at 12:06 PM on Feb 15:

Christina,

It absolutely makes sense, but I hope that you will make that time that you need with God. If your life won't let go of you, see if you can just let go of your life for a little healing time.

As an earthly parent, I hurt when my children hurt. How much more must our heavenly Father ache for you right now? Not only does He want to heal you, but He wants absolutely nothing to get in the way of His relationship with you. He loves you. Remember that.

Blessings

9. Sarah P. said the following at 3:24 PM on Feb 15:

Christina: You bet it makes sense. But maybe also, God knows that in your case right now the stretched-out time is part of the healing. To heal a bad burn, often you have to keep scraping off infections, rendering the wound raw all over again. :P

10. BDB said the following at 4:32 PM on Feb 15:

Christina wrote:

>>I don't want to spend 6 hours in the evening focusing on it and working through it and end up a complete mess for work the next morning and start over again that night. Does that make sense?<<

Goodness, yes.

But be cautious about those situations. If God has something He wants us to deal with, and we put it off...he might "arrange" our circumstances so that we have time. I know more than one person who has found themselves unemployed - with a severance package to cover expenses - leaving them with nothing to do but deal with what God was nudging them to do. That's not always a bad thing, of course. Might be a good way to clean out my garage, for example...

11. Kara said the following at 12:51 AM on Feb 16:

Thanks for sharing your personal experience. I too have several wounds that need healed. Just like Christina, it seems to be taking a long time. For all those who responded to Christina, thank you too. Your words of wisdom have been a balm to my spirit when I needed uplifting words the most.

12. Carla R. said the following at 8:26 AM on Feb 16:

Heather, thank you for a beautiful entry.

Christina, maybe this is something that you don't have to go through alone. Maybe there is a friend or mentor who will listen to your heart and pray with you for your healing and reaffirm words from the Lord to hang onto. For myself, in feeling different horrible emotions of loneliness, shame, guilt, discouragement, I had to find scriptures that spoke God's truth and life to my situation and keep praying them and meditating on them. I also spent time pouring out all my negative thoughts and emotions to the Lord, sometimes through paintings. Over a years time, He really has done an amazing work in my heart - I have much more peace and joy.

Keep pressing through, it will be so worth it in the end!! God brings restoration and makes everything beautiful in time.

13. Leah said the following at 12:50 AM on Feb 18:

I agree with James.

My heart carries scars that, while I don't like the experiences that caused them, I'm glad to have- because it means I'm a wiser person and hopefully can help people learn from my mistakes :P

14. Sammie Sorrell said the following at 8:02 PM on Jul 6:

What a touching story and I'm so glad you shared this. I am a new christian and a firm believer that there is beauty in overcoming obstacles and taking that step with Christ will make us see this and we can live a fullfilling life. With God as my guide, I have realized many things about life and seen just what God can do in my life and I'd like to think I'm making a positive difference in those around me. I've discovered a true spiritual gift and like your story, I find the words of my feelings that I can't really express with words through songs. I have written three songs so far, one is similar to your song, only its about how God holds onto what we let go...in which I just think its amazing. Keep writing and may God bless you and your band with words to reach out to people. I am a huge fan and I can relate so much to your thoughts. Thank you! You are a major inspiration.