Scars

We've all heard the saying "Life is full of surprises", and good ole Forest Gump's "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get".

That is true for us.

My family has scars. Behind those scars is a story. Behind that story is our God who wrote that story.

These are our Scars.

Jason
has a giant scar on his shin. He got it when he was younger, jumping off of the dock on the lake behind his childhood home. I have heard his parents tell the and each time I hear it, I see the look of a concerned parent come across his mom and dad's face. A look I see in our own photos this past year.
He has a few cuts on his fingers from a knife that got away from him.
When i look at his hands, I see the stories.

Gavin
has a number of scars. God-sized miracle scars.
The first one is on his left side, and is about 3 inches in length. It is the first scar that saved his life. It is where the surgeon detached his esophagus from his trachea and then attached his esophagus to his stomach. There are two more very close to that one. They are where the chest tubes were, and draining the fluid after his esophagus surgery. Each time I change him into his cute outfits, I see them.

What a miracle is behind those scars.

His fourth scar is on his head. It is about 2 inches in length. When the wound was fresh it seemed quite large on his little baby head, but it is now covered with his blonde hair. It reminds us each time we see him from behind, that there used to be a bump there. A bump that was causing him no harm, but yet it needed to be removed. We are reminded that God was gracious to us and that there was only fluid in the sac. No brain matter, no arteries.

His fifth (and sixth) final scars are on his lower back. They are where he had his tethered cord repaired. Had it not been fixed he could have lost control of his legs, and it was so tight that it was causing him pain. We consider the sixth par for the course - it is actually bigger than his incision. It was a burn that took place after the surgery - still not certain from what exactly, but it is now a healed scar.

I pray some day that he will count his scars as blessings. And we all know that scars are "tough" - so my boy is the toughest little 10 month old around! Look out ladies. Those scars and unbelievable lashes will get you hooked!

I have my own scars
one on my left knee from when I was a little girl. In second grade I was being chased by my "boy friend" when we were pretending to be the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - who didn't do that?! Just me? Ok... Anyway, I fell and still to this day have a rock from the asphalt in my knee.

My other scar I bare with pride. I didn't expect it, as most people don't. Scars are just that - usually unexpected. Some are accidents, some are self-inflicted, others are there for good reasons. This one is on my lower abdomen. A scar that brought my sweet boy into this world. It wasn't what I expected, but without it we wouldn't be here - my boy and me.

Whether your scars are on your heart or on your skin, they are a part of your story. Bare them with pride.