War Wounds, War Stories and Maybes.

This is one of those blogs that I've hesitated to write about multiple times, but I can't seem to get it out of my head and circumstances compel me to just go ahead and write the darn thing.  One thing I really dislike about public posts is that it leaves room for misunderstanding and judgement.  I'll make my disclaimer up front:  I have no intention of making anyone feel judged; in fact, my intent is the opposite....to offer encouragement for those who have experienced suffering or are walking through the fire right now.

Recently, I have heard of so many tough situations, much tragedy and plain ol' heartbreak.  A young lady who gets cancer in her 20's, a young family losing their much too young daddy, a couple losing their 12 year old daughter and only child, a young mom getting cancer, another mom receiving a stage 4 cancer diagnosis, a couple with a stillborn child.  Sometimes the heartbreak seems overwhelming.

I don't mean to be the bearer of only bad news.  There is much goodness in our lives, too.  Much to give thanks and praise Him for!  Yet, in the midst of all the good, how do we process the tough?  The suffering?  The trials?

Sometimes the scars bother me.  I mean, couldn't our sovereign God remove them?  Let us walk through the fire, complete the trial and then couldn't He just wave His proverbial magic wand and wipe away all evidence of the fight?  I found myself asking God, what's the point of all these scars?  Who needs them in heaven???  In all honesty, the scars don't bother me every day.  But on the days when I hear of heartbreak and then see the scars on my body, it almost feels like a punch to the gut of a permanent mark that won't go away.

And that's just physical scars.  What about the scars no one can see?  The young wife who bears the scar of being a much too young widow?  The family who bears the scar of being childless much too soon.  The kids, big and small, who bear the title of orphan.

And that's when this image came to mind  (Here's another disclaimer:  I am not claiming that any of this is theologically correct!  It's just the vision that came to mind):

I imagine that when we get to heaven, we may very well still bear our scars.  And while we will be consumed with declaring 'Holy, Holy Holy' in awesome reverence, I believe there will be another scene unfolding.  There will be other saints who welcome us and cheer for us and crowd around us.  There will be phrases like 'hey, look who made it!'  'welcome home!'  'well done!'  And then different saints will step forward and speak up on our behalf.  Instead of our scars being hidden they will point out the scars and say 'look at this one everyone.  This scar - whew.  what a story.  This one.  He lost his child and it broke his heart.  That's what that crack is.  But He never stopped believing in Him.  In fact, He let God use the crack in his heart to further God's Kingdom.  Geesh!  What a scar.  What a story.'   And then maybe in the midst of that, is when God says 'well done, good and faithful servant'.

Maybe this is a tiny glimpse of why we continue to fight the tough fights, why we hand our broken hearts to God and let Him use it for Glory instead of keeping the broken pieces to ourselves.  Maybe that's why we let our scars speak the story of His Grace and Redemption instead of hiding them.  Maybe that's another dimension of Matthew 5:10 that says "blessed are those who suffer for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of God."  Maybe that's why your suffering is not in vain.  Maybe that's what Romans 5:3, James 1:12, James 5:11 and 1 Peter 1:6 are all talking about.

Just maybe.