Driving home tonight I was listening to a sermon on the radio… partly because I was too lazy to turn it from my favorite station, and partly because I could tell it was over Romans 8 and Corrie ten Boom… both things I love. As the broadcast was concluding my “to do” list began running in my head in anticipation of my arrival home and the night ahead. On cue the garage door opened and the neighbors’ motion light turned on; all signs that I am home… and then over the sound of the garage door motor I heard it… “People are drawn to scars!” Huh. I have no idea what he was referencing… or how it was used in context… but my mind started racing. I love scars. I love my scars and the stories that go behind each and every one of them. I love asking others about their scars and listening to the stories they tell me. Years ago my friend Sean and I were enjoying a beautiful California day with the wind blowing through the car windows and the sunlight keeping our ocean soaked bodies just warm enough when we came to a red light. While we were sitting there a man came to a stop beside us in his car… he had his window down and his left arm resting on the window ledge. The entire length of his arm from pinky to elbow was held together with what I can imagine were staples… it was a natural reaction to look at his arm as it was right there… but I caught myself asking him what happened before even thinking. (Probably not my smartest moment, I know… I think even Sean was a little stunned) He answered back in as easy a way as I had asked it… like we had been talking for hours. He said that some lady had accidently locked her baby in her car so he broke the window to get to him. Again, my reaction was not quite what even I was expecting… “Wow dude – what a cool story you’re going to have with that scar.” What? Did I seriously just say that to a stranger? After he told me that? Sean on the other hand responded with what I imagine was the proper response and told him how awesome he was for doing that. The guy kind of shrugged it off and said, “It had to be done, ya know?”… and drove off. I can still visualize that scare to this day… down to ever silver shiny thing. Maybe because I wondered how it kept from burning his arm with the sun warming them up… but anyway, my point is that was one of the first things that popped in my head when I heard the guy on the radio say that. Then immediately my mind switched to my oldest niece with me at the zoo when she was young. There was a little girl with scars covering her entire face (possibly from a burn?) and Torrie looked up at me and in the innocent way of a child said, “Tia. What is that girls face ugly?” No filter… just an honest question from a four year old. I shushed her and then told her that God doesn’t make ugly people that bad personalities make people ugly and that little girl didn’t have an ugly face – her face had just been hurt by something. Then I told her to stop staring because she couldn’t take her eyes off her… she was fascinated. Yeah, I could have probably handled that one a little better. Ha! Torrie was drawn to it though. Anyway, I could probably talk for hours about all of the thoughts that came to my head in just the few moments it took me to pull in the garage, get out of the car, and walk to my door… but I won’t right now. The sum of it is there are all kinds of scars that people carry around every day that we can’t see… and have stories we would rather not know attached to them. There are people out there that have been hurt pretty badly and were convinced the wound would leave a scar for all the world to see… but by God’s Grace, there is nothing there… as if it had never happened. The lesson I learned though… the thing I know the Lord was telling me in that moment is this: People are drawn to scars and those five simple words parallel so brilliantly with Romans 8:28 (NKJV)… all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. All the bad things in life that we go through, all the pain, sadness, heartache, trials and tribulations... ALL these things... these "scars" God may choose to use to draw people to us, and ultimately - to Him. Just think of today's society... the rubber necking at accidents, the tv shows reflecting horrible images, the bad news we can't pull ourselves away from... even some of the most powerful testimony I've ever heard... are all "scars". So, the next time I find myself going through something... I'm going to remember that my scar... may very well may be for someone else's benefit. “Joy runs deeper than despair” ~ Corrie ten Boom P.S. - Some of the greatest people in history are only known because of their scars. | 
