Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the
author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the
cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
(Hebrews 12:2, NIV)
When Mike
and I got married, he bought me the most beautiful bedroom suite I have ever
seen, before or since. We had spent a lot of time searching for the perfect
set. When we found it, we were looking at a catalog in a furniture store and I turned
the page to a set named, “Precious Memories”, we both said, “That’s it!” Marital
agreement is a good thing!
We still
have that bedroom suite. It has been transported many miles, from Oklahoma, to
Washington State, across the Pacific to Oahu, back across the Pacific to
Missouri, back across the Pacific once more to the Big Island. That is a lot of
crossing!
Early in our
marriage, during the move from Oklahoma to Washing State, the cedar chest that
belongs to the suite was damaged by not being properly cared for by the people responsible
for it. It still has a deep scar because we’ve never correctly dealt with it.
The cedar chest did nothing wrong resulting in the scar. I know that may sound
absurd, but there is a point to the statement.
The allegory
being, at times we are scarred simply because we weren’t properly cared for and
not by means of our actions.
All these
years, all the moving, all the day in and day out of daily living, the cedar
chest still has the scar. All these years, I have strategically covered up the
scar with flower arrangements, my favorite clock, or candles.
Today, I researched
how to correctly deal with the scar at Lowes.com. Below is a brief excerpt.
“When refinishing furniture, you must do the most
unpleasant part of the job first. Removing the old finish can be a cumbersome
and messy task. For a while early in the process, until you start getting down
to the wood underneath the mess, you may feel that you have completely ruined
the piece. Have patience. Once you get to the final stage of the wood, you will
have graduated from making a mess to creating a masterpiece. When you are
finished, you will be proud of what you were able to create.”
To read the
instructions in their entirety, please use this link. The process is quite
lengthy.
Today, I had
to remove some flowers that covered up the scar and I was again reminded the
root issue had not been dealt with. For over fifteen years, the scar remains.
But today, instead
of cringing when I saw the scar, I smiled because God has changed my perception. Now, the sight of the scar reminds me of how deeply
God has changed our lives over the past fifteen years. Today, the scar brings
me joy unspeakable and made me sing, “Look what the LORD has done!”
I am no longer reminded of what the enemy tried to do. (John 10:10)
I am reminded of everything God has done! (John 10:10)
If we choose to hold onto offense, the list of emotional scars can be quite lengthy. We can decide to cover up the scars with pretty things, but the scar remains. Whether we were or were not
properly cared for and a scar or scars resulted, God’s Word remains the same, forgive
and you will be forgiven. (Luke 6:37) God has set before us the choice to choose life! (Deuteronomy 30:19)
Dr. Larry Ollison's book, "Breaking the Cycle of Offense" (www.faithman.org) will help you walk out this process.
Dealing with emotional scars and furniture scars can
be quite lengthy. When dealing with emotional scars we must do the most
unpleasant part of the job first, removing the root, which can be a cumbersome
and messy task. For a while early in the process, until we start getting down
to the root issue underneath the mess, we may feel that we have completely
ruined things. Have patience. Once we get to the final stage (deliverance), we
will have graduated from making a mess to allowing God to create a masterpiece!
When we are finished, we will be so well pleased of what God recreated! God doesn't cover the mess up, He makes
all things new! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
We don’t
have to go through daily life covering up scars. Do your scars remind you of the
wonderful goodness of God? Or do your scars bring pain that has just been
covered up and not properly dealt with leaving the root issue intact?
I thank God
we don’t have to go through the same process with emotional scars that we have
to with furniture scars! Did you read all those instructions? Mercy!
He is easy and
light! Fix your eyes on Jesus, forgive, receive His healing by faith, (Even if
your mind doesn’t currently understand, just have confidence in His Word.), walk in the belief you were healed (1
Peter 2:24 & 2 Corinthians 5:7), and you will dance for your King and sing, “Look what the LORD has done!”
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