It's been a while since I posted anything. Life has been busy with travel; sports are in full swing with frequent visits to various ball fields; our house is still on the market and we've had several showings; all in all it's been a busy few weeks. I just completed a rather large video project so now I'm putting photos on the back burner for a bit so I can catch up with my writing ideas.
Do not be fooled, I have been writing--- in my head, in my journal, in my little purse notebook, on napkins, toilet tissue -- you get the picture. My mind does two things almost constantly - write and take pics. I look at daily activities and see photos; I walk through my day and organize thoughts in my mind for an article. Perhaps its a disease; perhaps its a gift; or perhaps its just weird. Either way, it is how I am.
One of my ramblings lately has been about wounds and scars. Where the one is painful and needs healing, the other is an indication of a victory of some sort, a badge of courage so to speak. I like that. Fortunately, I have very few scars on my physical body but also fortunately I have many on my soul.
This is how I look at it. We all have battles in our lives, some are small skirmishes while others are intense all-out wars. There is no way of getting around that. The secret is the healing of the battle wounds. When the Lord invaded me back in 1979 and turned my life upside down, I had many wounds in my emotions, in my mind and in my heart. Years of living in open sin and rebellion against God had left its mark deep in my soul.
The Holy Spirit, however, was not intimidated one bit. He set about to cleanse, heal, restore, rebuild, reconnect and reeducate me. Oh my! What a time we had. Bit by bit, layer by layer He uncovered and healed. Some were so small the fresh pink skin completely removed any remembrance of the wound. Others He chose to heal with a scar. Oh, He could have removed all signs of those too, but I'm glad he didn't. Those are the ones I can point to and say, "I once was blind but now I see!"
I don't ponder on my scars anymore, neither do I exploit them, but I do remember. I remember His gracious love for me. I remember His unyielding determination to make me whole. (We are still working on that one.) But the point is, I am not ashamed of my scars; they prove I've been in a battle and they prove He has been victorious on my behalf. He never loses, He never retreats, He never stops moving forward.
Of course there have been many battles and many wounds since 1979. Life is still full of battles. One of my favorite verses is Matt. 11:12
And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force (as a precious prize - a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion). Amplified Bible
Violence. Its a part of our lives if we are moving forward with God. And violence sometimes brings wounds. But the secret is in the healing. The wounds become scars and we stand as evidence of His amazing grace and love. God is good and He loves us. He sees our battles, He joins with us in them and even though we are sometimes wounded deep in our soul, it is never too much for Him.
Joyce Meyer often says, "you can be pitiful or powerful, but not both." It's true. We either choose to hold on to our wounds and be pitiful or we forgive, repent, stand up and allow the Lord to heal us and move on.
There is power in a battle tested soldier that stands up once again, squares his shoulders and with a twinkle in his eyes, a joy in his spirit and a spring in his step, raises his shield of faith with a scarred hand and moves forward with the ranks of the redeemed.
There is power in a battle tested soldier that stands up once again, squares his shoulders and with a twinkle in his eyes, a joy in his spirit and a spring in his step, raises his shield of faith with a scarred hand and moves forward with the ranks of the redeemed.