Life Lessons - Scars

• 11.23.06
  
  It's Thanksgiving… and in recounting some of the things I'm thankful for this year, one of the 'biggies' amongst so many things I'm thankful for today is that God is restoring 'feeling' in my body. Let me back up and give some history… and it's a little gross and more info than I like to share... but hang in there...
  
  
  I was sick for many years…. well, most of my life, really... suffering from various disorders and diseases that, among other things, led to the loss of several organs and a total of 29 surgeries – 27 of which were abdominal. God has healed me repeatedly throughout my life and I stand today healthier than I have been in many, many years. But, recently I began praying and believing for restoration in my body… and am thankful to report that I am now only on 2 lifetime medications (down from 7) and I truly feel fabulous most of the time! But….obviously, the results and lasting effects of all these surgeries is scarring and scar tissue. Now notice that I named scarring and scar tissue separately, as I have suffered from both. Scar tissue is most commonly the internal scarring that occurs post-surgery; also known as 'adhesions'. For me, it grew in my abdomen as web-like glue… causing my insides to stick together, crimp and twist and cause such pain until I couldn't even walk uprightly and was almost crippled. Unfortunately, there is no man-made solution for this other than – you guessed it- more surgery to remove the scar tissue. I had this done twice and the surgeon removed 4 and 3 pounds of scar tissue, respectively, and I have not suffered from this again. Now, scarring is the result of any burn, injury, surgical incision, or trauma to the skin and God led me to some very good doctors who made sure my scars were as 'pretty' as they could be… however, what they could not control was the severed nerves which resulted in numbness and loss of sensitivity. There were some areas on my abdomen that I couldn't feel at all (i.e. I could literally stick a needle in some areas and not feel a thing – not that I did that very often, but admittedly I did try it once or twice just to 'see'). The worst of this was the constant feeling that it was itching, but I couldn't feel any relief from scratching. I know that's probably TMI (too much information) but think about how frustrating that must be! ANYWAY, in the past few months I have begun 'feeling' again… God is restoring the 'feeling' in my body….
  
  
  
  Now, back to where I was at the beginning here... in thanking Him for this restoration of feeling in my body… God began showing me something deeper…
  
  
  
  As I thought about all this, I realized that emotional scars are similar. A wound of any kind, whether caused by some incident out of our control, inflicted by someone else, or even as the result of something we did ourselves can cause severe damage and ultimately… scarring. We all suffer from the scars of life…the loss of a loved one, a failed marriage, broken relationships, hurtful words, betrayals, disappointments, trauma, cruelty, etc. The list could go on and on… and some of these 'wounds' come from our families, our employers, our closest friends, distant acquaintances, school mates, our church, or even ourselves and/or choices we make. Now, this is not revelation…. Duh! We all know this… and sadly, these things are just part of life. Here is the lesson God revealed to me:
  
  
  
  I got it mixed up. I did not delineate between the wounds and the scars. You see, the wounds come from an outside source, or because of bad choices we, ourselves, make (these are the self-inflicted wounds)…. But the SCARS are our part in it. We choose to let these wounds become a web of bitterness and unforgiveness. We let it grow until it cripples us, and the only solution is a surgical intervention from the 'Master Surgeon' to rid us of this pain. Again, this is not huge revelation, as there is much teaching on this type of thing. What the Lord was talking to me about today was the superficial scarring… the scars that look pretty good on the outside. There is evidence of the trauma, but they have been sewn up nicely and the scars are barely visible. However, they have caused numbness, a loss of feeling. You have become desensitized.
  
  
  
  Someone said something unkind, so it's okay if you gossip about them…. Someone passed you over for a promotion, so you chuckle if they lose their job… you didn't get the raise you wanted, so you quit trying so hard… the pastor didn't 'recognize what you did', so you quit volunteering at church… someone at church mistreated you, so you quit going… Someone hurt you, so they 'deserve what they get'… the loved one you prayed for died anyway, so you stop trusting… someone let you down, so you stop caring… you make one mistake, and you think you've messed up too bad, so you give up… God didn't answer your prayer the way you thought He should, so you become hardened…calloused… desensitized.
  
  
  
  You see…it starts out with a little bit of insensitivity, sometimes barely noticeable…but it will lead to crippling…and it happens while you're sleeping… because you've left the wound unattended.
  
  
  
  To diminish the effects of scarring (and this is squirly, but I'm a visual learner):
  
  
  
• Apply the oil of God's Mercy directly and immediately to the wound.
• Do not leave the wound unattended or uncovered, but cover in Forgiveness daily.
• Wrap the wound in the bandage of God's Word.
• Cleanse often. Wash in the blood of Jesus Christ.
• Avoid exposure to gossip, as many wounds are contagious.
• Do not remove the scab once the wound begins to heal, as this can lead to infection.
  

Remember, God does, indeed, use time to heal most wounds… but He has given us the ability and responsibility to control the scarring thereof ourselves.



I am thankful for the restoration of feeling in my body, but I'm exponentially more grateful that He has restored FEELING in my heart and in my soul. I had become desensitized; I allowed the hurts and disappointments I had encountered to harden me, and ultimately… I became desensitized to sin in my life…. But with God's love and mercy, and by taking the steps listed above…. I can say I'm thankful. I'm even thankful for the scars.... because they mean I've been in battle.... and I've won. What didn't kill me... truly has made me strong. And God has been faithful to keep me, and to restore the things that were stolen... and to take those things that were intended for evil.... and turn them around for my ultimate good.
I can truly say today and every day, I'm THANKFUL… for health, for love, for peace, for joy… for LIFE

Life Lessons - Lessons from Life for Life by Patti Hamilton is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.