I recently had someone ask me if I am the same person I used to be. My initial response upon hearing this question was.... "Well, yes." But like any other female in the world, my thoughts raced to wondering if there was some underlying idea that I used to be the opposite of what people see when they look at me now. I would like to think my heart has always been beautiful. I would like to think it has always been gentle, sensitive, loving, caring, compassionate, and full of encouragement. I've always had a tender spot for others and their trials. I have always wanted to make a difference. I have always tried to be someone my mother would be proud to call daughter. I have always wanted to give more than my budget says I have to give. Just ask my husband, ha! So, upon being asked this question, my insides screamed an emphatic YES! But you see, sometimes the most uncomfortable, unlikely question of judgement can give life to thoughts God intends for us to share with others. He knew I would fail daily. He needed me to fail so that someone else could succeed. I would learn hard lessons in the process of my failures. These discrepancies in my life were needed in order to heal my soul from the burdens of this world.
God loves us enough to bestow upon us the process. The process grows us. The process creates who we are in Him. The process allows us to fail by human choice so that we know the difference between that choice and heavenly grace. Sometimes we live life in fear of our scars; the scars of who we are. That is what the enemy wants. He wants you living under the oppression of defeat. He wants this because he knows your power will shake the world once you have found freedom from scars. Your choices, mishaps, and wrongdoings in this life don't define you. God defines you. His grace is amongst those scars you wear. That amazing grace is why those scars are no longer open wounds. He knew you needed those scars to tell a story, a story that would change someone else's life. A story that would give someone else the will to fight another day.
Are you the same person you used to be? I hope you give thought to this question. I hope your heart is like that of the little child you used to be. I hope equally as much that you have scars. And I hope that those scars have changed who you used to be. I hope you acknowledge that grace lives within your scars. Your scars are beautiful.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." I John 1;9
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