by Alexandra Honegger

What comes to your mind when you see a scar?  You know that mark that doesn’t quite blend in.  Something happened there.  Something hurt there.  It represents a wound but it also signifies healing happened.

Just like most physical wounds become scars, emotional wounds do too but many times, aren’t visible. They are easier to hide.   Just like physical scars remain as a reminder of the injury, our emotional scars don’t completely go away. They can heal and fade over time but neither your heart nor your skin can go back to the way it was before the injury.

I have experienced my fair share of wounds in my past. I struggled with feeling unloved and unaccepted so I looked to men for those feelings of affirmation. When those friendships or relationships didn’t go as planned I was left feeling unloved, alone, and even more unworthy than before. I was on a long unsuccessful road trying to fill a void in my heart that only God could fill. When I surrendered my life to God I finally gave Him the opportunity to help heal my wounds.

Although the scars on my heart remain, the journey of healing has been invaluable. The experiences in my past are the same ones that have helped shape me into the woman I am today.  Although society tells us to hide our imperfections and pretend we are “fine” God asks us to do the opposite. In James 5:16 God says, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”

“He said what?!?! He tells us to show our weaknesses and tell people about our mistakes and our pasts?” YES! God tells us not to keep our scars to ourselves because when we start telling others about our struggles it will bring light to the places we’ve tried to hide. The enemy likes when we keep things a secret because he can keep using it against us.  The bible tells us that God comforts us in all our troubles and when we release the incident or wound to God then He can begin His work in healing us.

I am a living testament to this.  God continues to bring such a peace and healing to my life and is taking away all the shame and pain I use to hide behind. I still have moments of struggle along the way but I have women in my life who help me.  I have been able to connect to some amazing people that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do so if I hadn’t shared my past with them.

Imagine how powerful it would be if we allowed God to use our struggles to bring hope to those still in need of healing. When we invite God in, we can embrace the beauty that comes from our scars and know that God can bring something good out of it.