ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SCARS...

I have three scars on my body! I know...some are perhaps saying we don’t really care about your personal defects, but hear me out!

Wikipedia says: Scars are areas of fibrous tissue that replace normal skin after an injury. A scar results from the biological process of wound repair in the skin and other tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a result of the natural part of the healing process.

To me a scar is a reminder of an adverse event that happened in my life.

Potato diggin' time in Maine

I have a scar on the tip of one of my fingers on my left hand. I was nine years old working in the potato field picking potatoes on a small potato farm in Mars Hill, Maine. It was a wet morning and the field was muddy in certain places. The tractor and potato digger came by my section and just then it bogged down in the mud and was stuck.  Everyone gathered around to watch the farmer as he struggled to get the thing moving again. 

I, of course, saw a crowd and proceeded to put on a little show. I got beside the digger and pretended that I was pushing the digger out of the mud.  Just then the farmer raised the hydraulic mechanism of the digger blades and my finger was at the wrong place at the wrong time.  All of a sudden I let out a blood curdling scream that could be heard all the way to Presque Isle. My finger was caught and wasn’t released until the guy on the tractor saw what was happening and lowered the hydraulic system. The pain was pathetic!  Blood was literally pumping out of the end of my finger! They wrapped my hand in an old T shirt and rushed me home to Grampys place. Everyone at home was determined that I was going to the Emergency to get stitches but my great-grand mother, who understood me, calmed everyone down and said he's going to be fine and she proceeded to doctor my finger. Thank God for Grammy Chase! Today, I still have a tender spot and a scar on the end of that finger and it serves as a gentle reminder of the cost of “showing off”! Since that day, whenever I decide to "show off" a little, I think I can feel a little bit of pain in that finger.

I have another scar right on the bald portion of my head. As an infant baby, I was lying in my bassinet on the floor in front of the kitchen stove. I still have a question why I was even there in the first place...Mom?  Grampy Bell was removing a very hot, chicken pot pie from the oven and he dropped the whole pie and it landed right on my face! Mom says, her mom, Grammy Bell was right there and as fast as lightning, swooped me up into her arms and quickly wiped the hot pie off my face with her hand! She said it was a miracle that I didn’t have terrible burns on my face. My grandfather was so upset when he saw what had happened that he ran out of the house and vomited in the back yard! It so happened that when they were cleaning me up they missed one little pea that had stuck to the top of my head that burned a spot and left a small scar. Hair never grew on that small spot. Perhaps this is where the term "pea brain" came from." Today, you can’t really see the spot because now my “old man bald spot” has taken over!

The third scar that I have is on my back. It happened when I was sixteen as I was splitting fire wood for dad in the back yard in Hoyt, New Brunswick. I had stood the double bitted axe against the wood pile and for some reason lost my balance while bending over. I fell backward and the edge of the very sharp axe cut my back open leaving a nice two inch gash! It gives me chills when I think about it, realizing it could have been a whole lot worse!

I told you all that to say this. Each scar on my body serves as a reminder of something dramatic that happened in my past. Each time I see them I remember the story of how it happened. They somehow teach me lessons that have helped me guard against it ever happening again.

I recognize that the scars I carry are minor compared to some of the scars people carry today. Some scars are not visible but are hidden deep inside the heart. Emotional scars are as real as a scar in the hand or foot. You see, some people have events that have wounded so deeply that they cannot seem to forget or forgive. My heart goes out to those who carry such hurts.

All around the world people are carrying scars from their past. Although it may be hard to forget what happened, there is a miracle in forgiving whatever caused the scar. Self inflicted wounds are sometimes the hardest to forgive.

The Bible is clear, “As Christ has forgiven us, we must also forgive!” May we never forget the nail scarred hands of Jesus! They serve as a reminder of the pain He suffered for us on the cross.  SRR




STORY CLARIFICATION BY MOM:The pie story is a day I'll never forget!  You were 2 months old and by the way you was near the table not the stove.... Grampie took the pie out of the oven and was on his way to the table his foot hit the legs of the bassinet,he was in a hurry because the pie was terribly hot, that pie literally went face down on your face, it is a miracle that you did not have scars on your face. The quick thinking of my mom saved you....All I could do is scream.....
I had forgot about the finger cutting incident LOL!!