Scratch Scars

I think while God was making the world, He took one look at Adam and thought, "This world is going to be too boring. I think I'll make woman to make things a little more interesting." At least we know that an omniscient God knew what He was getting Himself into.

As I've mentioned before, I love the word remarkable. And girls have a remarkable way of tearing each other down. I hate the word remarkable in this context but it fits quite well. We, as the female species, have a talent not derived from our maker for using our words and actions to scratch at each other's hearts and leave scars which we cannot even fathom except by feeling the scars on our own. I don't know what it is about our nature, human nature in general, that drives us to bring others down to our level when we are in pain or suffering. Somehow we think that if we have to be in agony, it will somehow be lessened by taking others down with us.

I've met people before whose scars I recognize simply from looking into their eyes. The scars of self harm, insecurity, bullying, depression, and so many others can be so prevalent. I am terrified of them and yet drawn to them at the same time. These scars can cause people to viciously attack the unblemished places on our hearts, and opposingly it can also make them some of the strongest people I have ever met.

Most of the scratches and cuts on our hearts never really go away. Sometimes they become inflamed and infected again and other times they fade into the background. But we all have the cuts that will always hurt at least a little bit. This pain should be a reminder to us of the pain in the world we live in and the desperate need for the love we can provide.

I laughed a little reading that. I give advice much better than I follow it. I've left countless scars on people, as have all of us. Every scratch we leave on another cuts a small mark on our own hearts, and those marks add up. Sometimes I think those are the marks on my heart that hurt the most.

But this wasn't a testimony to the awfulness of the human condition. Certainly at times in my life I've had very little, if any, faith in humanity. However, time and time again I have been reminded of the human capacity to heal, so much stronger than the capacity to hurt. We girls have mastered the art of picking up our own broken pieces just enough to put others' back together again when they themselves cannot. Get yourself some friends like mine who in the midst of their own broken hearts have found nothing less than miraculous ways to mend mine. And sure they aren't perfect. In their own unintentional and sometimes intentional ways they have left some scratches on my heart as I'm sure I have on theirs. But those scars are a reminder to me of the beautiful ways in which they managed to heal me. And this is nothing short of a God given talent and gift.