More on wounds

Today in a devotion from Proverbs 31 ministry titled Scars, I was reminded of maybe why God sometimes allows pain in our lives. I talked in a previous post about wounds and how God holds me while healing the wound. In one instance in my life the wound is from my childhood, and in my constant attempt to "Band-Aid" the wound, I have found it showing it's ugliness in terrible ways as an adult. For me it was and still occasionally continues to be anger. Short, quick bouts of anger with those closest to me followed by terrible remorse later. In my effort to control my environment, I often lost control of my emotions. I often reacted to what my imagination was telling me and not the reality of the situation. And I never trusted my God to be big enough so that I could surrender the pain of the wound and let Him have ultimate control over my life.

Recently, I have been asked to speak on anger to a group of moms. I find this both an honor and also ask myself, why me? I think it is an important subject because I really believe that more moms deal with anger than they want to admit. And I think at the root of this anger and frustration lies fear. I think this fear shows up in many disguises and it's hard define. I may explore this some in my posts in the upcoming months as I prepare for this talk. I would love any of your feedback!

So, back to the devotion today, based on the following scripture:
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. II Corinthians 1:3-5 (NIV)

The writer, Karen Ehman, goes on to say talk about scars from old wounds and how really amazing it is in that God constantly outsmarts the enemy. She says this, "While the enemy loves to trip us up and make us fall, God desires that we walk in a way that honors Him and makes His name known. Rather than letting the pains and wrong choices of our past defeat us, rendering us unfit for God’s service, God will make use of our mistakes and our less-than-perfect circumstances. He can take our willingness to open up about them, being real rather than plastic, to encourage a weary traveler along life’s journey."

Those that know me, know I am a pretty open book. Sometimes, I agree that I may provide TMI and I realize many can't handle my "putting it all out there." My desire is truly to be authentic with people. I don't try to pretend that I am something I am not. This is who I am - past mistakes, wounds and all. You see, God loves me in spite of these. And through Him, the wounds of my past are healed and forgiven. I don't have to carry shame for them anymore. I LOVE that I am a new creation through Christ. I love that my past makes me who I am today and can be used for good. I really think that my wounds can help to heal similar wounds of others. Not only do I think this, but more importantly God does! He says this in the scripture above. ...the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. Actually, I can look to the wounds of my past now and almost celebrate them. Not excusing my past mistakes of course, but hopefully, someone else will learn from them by me sharing my experience. Someone else can heal or grow from them. Or someone can find healing in a wound inflicted by another. Mostly that someone else can find freedom from their own past.

Here is the devotion, btw. Scars