Scars. I don’t think there are any of us who haven’t dealt with scars one way or the other — whether physical scars or emotional ones. Right now, I think I’m wrestling with both.

I’m used to scars. I was in a motorcycle accident when I was 20 years old, and ended up with a compound fracture of my right femur and had four operations on my leg. Thankfully, I walk, talk and can go dancing. With physical therapy, I was nearly good as new. By the way, I think physical therapists are fantastic! They’re very special folks and really do their best to get you back to “normal.” Again, after any accident or surgery, there’s a “new normal.” However, if there’s a “normal” to get to, your PT’s will help you get there!

Ok, I digress…The result of my leg surgery were scars. I have one that goes from my knee to the top of my leg. My hubby calls it my zipper. This scar really only bothered me in the summer — when I’d wear shorts or a swimsuit. But it didn’t take long for me to dress how I wanted and not worry about hiding my zipper. I didn’t want my scars to run my life.

Now, I have more scars across my chest. Of course, these are easier to hide. But they’re still there.

There are two ways you can look at scars. It’s easy to look at scars and believe they’re ugly and disfiguring. With scars, you know you’ll never look the same way again as you did before.

Or you can look at scars as a sign of strength and survival, as God’s blessing. You may ask yourself “What? Scars as a blessing? After the trauma that caused them?”

Yes, scars are a blessing. My scars tell me that I’m still here. After a while, I learned to look at my scars as a sign of strength and survival. Going through that accident and the recovery, and going through cancer not once, but twice, has made me realize I was stronger than I thought I was.
That God carried me through those surgeries, and that He has work for me to do here on earth.

Would I feel that faith and feel this strength had I not gone through these experiences? I was talking with my cousin last week. In future blog posts, I hope to share more about my cousins. We are blessed to be a part of the same family, as most of us choose to go beyond just being cousins, and choose to be brothers, sisters and friends.

So, I was chatting with my special cousin-sister. She fights her own daily battle against a physically debilitating disease: arthritis.
This is not the disease just for aging. She’s had this as long as I can remember, and has to deal with physical pain and the crippling effects every single day. But she told me, she wouldn’t be the same person without this disease. It has made her stronger, made her the person she is today. And I must say, she is beautiful, strong, and sunshine in our lives. If you didn’t know what she battles every day, you would think she didn’t have a care in the world. She is such a bright light, and like me, would credit family and faith for getting her through her days.

My cousin and I have a kinship. She was also in a serious accident when she was younger. And now we know we are more beautiful for what we’ve endured, despite the physical changes on the outside. We are blessed to have our family, to have our faith and prayers for each other, and blessed to have our scars, both inside and out. We’re stronger for our pain, and know God will use this for His purpose in those around us.

I’m thankful for my cousins and the scars we share.

Keep on truckin’ everyone.