Scars - the Touch of God

"To be human is to be beautifully flawed"  October Baby

Some random thoughts rattling around in my brain and connections being made.  I don't know if I can get it into words, but I'll try.

It started with a conversation with a dear friend who adopted a precious little boy as a toddler from an orphanage in his country of birth where he had spent his babyhood.  He is grown now and trying to work through his feelings.  He's not even really ready to admit that there are scars in his life, that his early experiences would necessarily have shaped who he is and how he processes relationships.

One of our precious daughters has just recently returned to the LORD after being wildly wayward for the past four years.  Through those years bits and pieces  have come out revealing childhood scars brought on by sexual abuse.  I knew long before she was willing to tell us that something like this must have happened to her because of her responses to life.  Her experiences colored how she thought about herself and how she related to others. I am confident that God will bring into her life the necessary instruments of healing, I am equally sure that He intends to use the scars in turn to touch others for good. 

Scars, we all have them.  They are what make us unique.  The traumas they represent have been allowed by a good and loving God, a God who from the beginning plans to heal and redeem. 
If I've learned one thing in the past four years it is that God isn't looking for perfect vessels, he is looking to redeem us broken ones - and we are ALL BROKEN.  We all come with the sin nature and all have been touched by the sin of those around us.  "There is none righteous (whole) no not one...."  It seems that rather than draw back from these "flaws" in our lives, God weaves them into our story and uses them to bring glory to His name.  Man may mean it for evil, but God means it for good - our good and the good of others. 

When Jacob wrestled with God the story ends with God touching his hip and Jacob is never able to walk again without a limp - a constant reminder of God's touch. 

Our scars are the touch of God on our bodies and lives.  Painful perhaps but a reminder that we are not alone in this world - we have a God who is writing our story and wants to be the central theme.