“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”

-2 Corinthians 4:8-9 

          “I will never recover from this,” lamented Constance. “Never. I knew my daughter had been depressed. I knew something was troubling her deeply. But somehow I didn’t let her know I was a person she could talk to about her deepest, darkest feelings. She ended up taking her own life the day after my last conversation with her. How could I have failed her so terribly?” she said, with tears streaming down her face.

         Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians that we may be struck down, but we are not destroyed, regardless of how devastated we feel, regardless of what society and others may tell us. How easy this is to forget when we are feeling persecuted or struck down. 

         Can you remember the last time you felt that way? Was it a sudden economic setback? Unresolvable conflict with a child or partner? Devastating diagnosis you received? Unexpected loss of a loved one? 

         If we can only remember in those times that we are loved beyond measure, that God loves us especially when we are at our lowest, especially when we feel that our emotional scars will never heal, we can have hope for a new tomorrow.  

         Prize-winning author Amy Ferris is fond of saying, “Wear your scars like stardust.” She adds, “I think scars — whether they’re physical, or emotional — are signs of huge massive bravery and courage. They often mean that someone has come through, walked through, run through, the fire.”1 How brilliantly she turns a deep wound, either physical or emotional, into something beautiful, even magical. 

    As women we are especially vulnerable to thinking of our scars as negatives in our lives, parts of ourselves to be ashamed of. Yet all of us have scars of one kind or another. All of us. 

    How might you turn yours into stardust? 

1Marcia G. Yerman, “Amy Ferris Takes on Depression in Shades of Blue”, HuffPost, December 6, 2017. 

For a powerful, spiritual song about the healing nature of scars see lyric video, “That’s What Scars Are For” by Mandisa. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Gvt__r9EU0