Battle Scars

This past Saturday I had the honor of taking part in a group discussion with several other women. The purpose of our gathering together was to videotape us sharing our stories in a community setting. The video will be used in an upcoming womens conference called "Food, Sex, and Danger." As you can imagine from the title of the conference, our stories are not the usual ones you hear openly discussed in church circles. Especially when it comes to us women. In my opinion, one of the greatest lies of satan is that if anyone knew the real us, we would spend the rest of our lives alone. The friends we have would surely abandon us if they knew our real struggles. If my church knew this secret about me, they would disqualify me from serving and might even ask me to leave the church. The sad reality is that in some churches, this might be the case. If this is what would happen in your church, then it might be time to find a new church home. But that is not the topic of today's writing.

The subjects touched during our discussion included divorce, pregnancy and adoption, porn addiction, drug abuse, cutting, promiscuity, food addictions, and single motherhood. All of these stories came out of only 5 women. Some of the participants are barely out of their teens (if not still teenagers). I am humbled to have been a part of this group. The reality is that by sharing our scars with one another, we not only facilitate healing in ourselves, but we can bring healing to others. I suspected I might cry while telling my story, but did not think I would cry by hearing someone else share theirs. It wasn't even the story itself that moved me to tears, but the young woman who shared of placing her daughter for adoption as she explained through the process of giving birth God birthed something in her. How there is a reason it's called "expecting" because the process of growing a life inside of you is similar to how God grows us internally and we have to labor in order to give birth to the purpose He has placed inside of us.

What are your scars? Do you spend your life in an attempt to cover them or do you display them proudly? I don't mean proudly in the sense of being proud of what you've done, but proudly in that you are no longer the person you were. Display them so others can see they are no longer bleeding, but are healed because of the power of Jesus. Thinking of the topic of scars last night I recalled the interaction between Jesus and Thomas after Jesus' resurrection.

"Then He said to Thomas, Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." John 20:27

What would happen if instead of hiding our scars and wounds, we allowed others to reach their hands in and feel them? How might their belief in Jesus change if we allowed them to truly see how He has healed us? Some wounds are tender and the scab is steal healing. I understand that sharing our past is painful. I have a place on my body where I received stitches over a dozen years ago and yet sometimes when it rains that same place itches. When rains come in our life our old wounds can cause us new discomfort. It's not the same as when the wound happened, but yet we know the scar is there.

What is your story? Who has God placed in your life that needs to know the wounds can heal? I can promise you there is SOMEONE in your circle of influence that is going through a difficult time and needs to hear from you that it can get better. Maybe it's someone with a weight issue and you have fought the same battle. They need to see the "before" you in order to know it can change. Maybe you have struggled with sexual addiction and there is another woman in your life that thinks if she told anyone what she does in the dark that she would be labeled as a slut and outcast from the church. What about the mom that has to drink or pop a pill every day just to cope with the realities of life? How much different would she feel to know someone else who has battled this same demon? There are so many more examples I could list, but you already know the area in which God has healed you!

Maybe you have not experienced your healing yet and you are in the middle of the battle. I beg you...PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not remain silent another day! We have a very real enemy who does not want to see you healed. He knows that your healing will release all that God has placed inside of you and as long as you remain trapped in this bondage of secrecy you cannot walk out His purposes. Pray that God will show you who to trust with your struggles. We must be sure when our wounds are open and raw that we do not share with others who will simply throw in salt. God will bring you someone who is prepared with salve and bandages to help protect your wound during the healing process. The beauty of community with others is knowing they are praying for you. It is having someone who knows you are struggling even before you say a word out loud. If you are not part of a church, I pray you find one that is strong in God's word and is welcoming to the broken and hurting. Don't let satan rob you of another day of freedom by remaining addicted to your shame.