Scars

Lisa Wallace

MA, LPC, NCC, CCMHC

2/19/2024

I was looking down at my arm the other day and noticed a scar, and I was immediately reminded of the story of how I got it. Every scar has a story beginning with pain. Physical, emotional, and mental scars all start with a painful experience. The story behind the pain of a scar can end with a period or a semicolon. The choice is yours. A period is at the end of a sentence and is also known as a “full stop.” A semicolon is used to connect two related sentences of equal importance. For example, a scar can remind you of only the pain it caused (period, full stop), or it can become a testimony of healing that can help someone else heal from their pain (semicolon).

We each must take the time needed for a painful experience to heal. Beth Moore, a Bible teacher and author, once said, “your greatest pain can become your deepest passion”. The pain and suffering you have experienced can drive you to help others with similar experiences. That creates empathy for those who are hurt, and Christ can use you as a walking testimony along the healing journey of someone else’s story of pain. Empathy is the “me too” emotion. It not only validates someone’s feelings, but empathy also experiences the emotion with them. When we allow the Lord to create a testimony from our painful experience, it will give purpose to our pain. We all have scars; we all have a testimony.