Scars aren't always bad things

Ok, little definition from Wikipedia
Scars (also called cicatrices) are areas of fibrous tissue that replace normal skin (or other tissue) after injury. A scar results from the biologic process of wound repair in the skin and other tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a natural part of the healing process

I don't know what it is about little kids and scar stories or teenage boys and scar stories. They are always kinda fun. Who has the coolest, grossest scar story? Oh yeah, my story is even grosser than yours?

Working with kids, somehow at some point, we always end up playing "who can out gross who" on scar stories. I usually always win. I flash my jaw reconstruction scar and then go into detail on how they reconstructed my jaw -- yeah -- lots ewwwws and lots of yucks. I always win. (no I will not go in to detail, but it is pretty cool).

I have been talking to a bunch of people lately about the stories and experiences of our life that define us. How everything we go through and experience can lead us to wherever we are headed in life, if we let it. This spiritual journey and becoming closer in my relationship with God has really started opening up some interesting doors that I never would have expected.

What do the scars in our lives say about us? Are they all painful stories? Are scars necessarily hurts in our lives? This is kind of an interesting thought in my head. Can we see all the scars that are there? Now, that is a bit of a deeper question.

For me, the scars - the bumps in the road make me me. It is that plain and simple. I was one of 546 people who had Typhoid Fever in 1977 in the WHOLE U.S. That is a really cool statistic to rattle off but that is all it is. Before I was in Kindergarten, I almost died 4 times with medical problems. Yeah, scary but it is what it is. I have had really interesting things in my life like Typhoid and Tuberculosis that make doctor's hair stand on end. But they are just memories, just part of the story of Mariesa.

I could look at my overall 33 years on this earth and think, WOW that sucks. BUT why? Why do I need to focus on those scars and events as anymore than fibrous tissue that is part of the healing biological process. Instead I choose to share my story. I choose to show the love and healing power I believe follows my faith life with others who are in need and understanding of that healing.

So many people get weighed down by the physical calamities of life. So many people dwell on the "crap storms" that happen. We all have vulnerability. We all have stuff in our lives, scars that we don't understand. We have "reminders" of the past. We have build up of tissue that is the healing process. We can dwell on the physical and emotional reminders or grow from them. Those are the choices.

I can look at the gall bladder scar above my belly button and remember that it is healed. Yeah, it is an ugly 1 1/2 inch blemish that I can't get rid of but it definitely is NOT the end of the world. And hey, it might just make a really cool gross out story in the future.