Appreciate Your Scars

• Scars are important. I’m a firm believer that everything happens in life for a reason. If it has

  happened, it’s because it had to.

  I’ve learned to cherish the scars, physically and otherwise that have been dealt with me. Every one of them has taught me something and some things that I will treasure. It’s never just a case of pain for nothing!

  I will share some of my scars with you and perhaps the life lesson I’ve got as a result. Hopefully, this will get you to reflect on your very own scars that you too have to cherish.

  Years ago, when I was only a little girl, I was sent to the shop for the very first time on my own! The

  shop was only a few doors away, but I had to cross the street. Whether I had already had that

  lesson about looking up, look down, look up again and then cross, I don’t quite remember,

  but all I know is that I was so excited that I ran across the road and I was struck by a bicycle! The scar in my

  eyebrow is a daily reminder of, not the accident, but the lesson I learnt.

  

  Later on in life as a teenager, my curiosity got the better of me and I wanted to see what it was like

  to ride as a passenger on a motorbike! Wrong decision! What I didn’t know when Hinds rode up on

  his bike after church one night was that I was to be aware of the hot exhaust pipes! Make sure you

  know where they are and don’t let your leg or any part of your body touch them when you mount or

  dismount a motorcycle! I only read this today when I was doing some research for the article.The

  exhaust can give you a severe burn right through the heaviest trousers! Remember I didn’t wear trousers then? (Read my post here about that and how I jogged my memory.) Well, I didn’t but suffice it to say that I do know now to never mount a motorbike again and the massive scar on the inside of my leg is enough of a reminder.

  So it was 17 years ago when I checked into the hospital in the Turks and Caicos Islands where I was

  living, as I had passed my due date and the baby wasn’t budging. I remember a friend had said, “don’t

  worry, it went in so it has to come out!”. But after a few more days overdue, I did start to worry and

  shared my concerns with the medical team who decided that labour would be induced. Oh, my

  word! I cannot even begin to explain the pain and suffering I went through after the drugs started to

  work. Well, they took me out of that misery a few hours later after I had not even started to dilate,

  and decided on another course of action. Surgery! Caesarian Section! It was a welcome idea

  compared to the pain of the failed induced labour. I was pleased with that outcome, despite the

  scar showing proof that I gave birth to a lovely son who I will ever love and cherish. I did jokingly

  ask the surgeon after I was taken to the recovery room why he didn’t remove some of the fat from my

  belly since he was already in there and I was already going to have a scar anyway! (Talk about two for the price of one!)

  One Sunday morning a few years ago, I decided to make fritters for breakfast. It was my older

  son’s favourite and I usually did it on a Sunday morning since I had more time. It was almost a

  routine for me and we always enjoyed it. Well this particular morning, for some reason, when I put

  a batch of fritters into the hot oil, it spat back at me! I was burnt in little spots on my face, chest and

  arms! For some reason, I was angry and told my son that I would never be making fritters again! He

  said, “Mom if you get in an accident one day and break a leg, aren’t you going to walk again after

  your leg heals?” Good point, isn’t it? Those little scars continue to remind me that difficulties can be

  overcome, but also that in life you sometimes get ‘burned’ and have scars to show for doing things

  for those you love.

  There are mental scars too: painful memories of loved ones you’ve lost, circumstances that haven’t

  turned out as you’ve planned, or expected. But surely you can’t say that you haven’t learnt

  anything from the scars you now have! Encourage others when you see them complaining about

  their scars! Life lessons have been wasted if you haven’t learnt to link them to your scars. So go

  ahead, you could so do a little activity like I have, of matching your scars to the lessons you have learnt.

  And please do share one or two of your lessons.

  BTW, thanks to those who write us here or on Facebook and especially Pinterest! We love getting followers on Pinterest and seeing the awesome things you are saving! Follow us there and we will follow you right back! It’s Pinterest.com/joleisacreed

  Cheers, for a lovely day to you and yours.

Grammarly