Peace in the Midst of Pain

SCARS VS. BEAUTY MARKS When my oldest granddaughter was 5 years old, it was necessary for her to have a large dark brown birthmark surgically removed from her thigh. Prior to her surgery she called “Grandma” to see what surgery was like because “Grandma” had had more surgeries than anyone she knew. I tried to answer her questions the best I could without frightening her. I told her that she could take a stuffed angel teddy bear I had to the hospital with her to remind her that God had sent guardian angels to watch over her during her surgery. We prayed together over the phone. On surgery day, she was fine as long as she had the angel bear. The birthmark was successfully removed. This summer, five years after Janie’s surgery, we took three of our grandchildren for a swim day at a local recreation center. We had a great time swimming and going down the water slide. While changing clothes my granddaughter was sure some girls across the locker room were pointing at the scar on her thigh. My immediate advice was for her to ignore them, for they were probably too far across the locker room to be able to see her scar anyway. As we finished getting dressed, 10-year old Janie said, “Grandma, What do you do when people point to your scars? You have more scars than anyone I know.” My first reaction was to glibly say that I usually just ignore them. As I looked into Janie’s face, I knew the reply she needed deserved more time and thought. I gave her a big hug and we had our own locker room holy huddle. “When people do ask about my scars or I find them staring, I just explain what caused them. Often answering the questions before they are asked eases the tension. If it doesn’t, I ask if they have any other questions. Whether people have questions or point or stare it doesn’t change the person I am inside -- the person God made me to be. The acts or questions of others don’t change the person God made you to be either, Janie.” I told Janie that there was a person in the Bible who was identified or known by his scars and that person was Jesus Christ. His disciple and friend, Thomas, would not believe that Jesus had risen from the dead until he had placed his fingers into the nail holes (scars) in Jesus hands and feet (John 20:24-28). Jesus appeared and allowed Thomas to identify Him by His scars. Jesus’ scars were signs to Thomas of the bad things Jesus had been through and the good that had been accomplished by the bad. “Janie, when we have scars on our body, it is a sign to other people that we have been through a difficult time. What we need to do is let those people see that our scars are a sign that God has carried us or helped us through those difficult times. Usually scars are thought about as something ugly, or something that makes you look less than perfect. If we can let Jesus shine through our scars so that our scars are marks that identify us with Him, then they become Beauty Marks not just ugly old scars.”