Every scar has a story;
The crazy tale of how you learned
to ride a bike,
A battle with your feet that you lost
and you fell on this or that,
A cut that turned out to be deeper
than you thought,
Wounds with stories,
left for the world to see.
What do you do every day?
What do you eat?
What are the challenges?
What parts are the best?
Do you miss home?
Do you feel safe?
Do you have enough money?
Are you where you want to be?
They will understand me.
And this big one is from feeling alone,
This one is for every kid that lives on the street,
And this one is malaria, broken limbs, and bloody feet,
This one is from raising ten stubborn boys,
Here’s one from guilt that I grew up with a roof, and food, and toys,
This one is from learning to live in a new place,
And this long one is from all the times I thought I earned grace,
This one is for every time that I’ve had to say no,
And turned them away with nowhere to go,
This one’s from the little boy who the world declares,
Is hopeless because of three little letters, HIV.
Because while they are still there,
I will tell of the bitterness, anger, hurt,
the doubt, the resentment, and the pain.
And I have to check my heart as my mouth opens to speak,
Because if I practice what I preach,
I shouldn’t long to tell the stories of my scars,
But I should LONG to tell of the day that I surrendered,
My pain, my sorrow, my glory,
I'm praising God for every person He has put in my path the past month and every church I've spoken at in my time in America that has asked me these questions; keeping me in a place where I long to tell of His glory and how He overcame in my story. The constant sharing has led me to surrender so much every day, because I know that if I am seeking to tell a story to a sister, friend, or stranger so that they will know ME better or what I have gone through; my heart is not in the right place. I've had to repetitively shut my mouth and ask myself if I'm honoring God or myself? And if I'm honoring myself, have I given all of this to Christ? We don't have to hold onto what we've been through and we don't have to keep our scars. When we surrender those things that's when our story becomes a testimony, and that's when we start to count sacrifices that we thought we had made, as gain because they have brought us closer to Christ. Your burden becomes a blessing.
There is power in the word of our testimony, and my testimony should be proclaiming of how He redeemed, how He healed, how He provided, and how He loved every step of the way.I share to tell of His power, His strong arm that upholds me, and how He continues to rejoice over me no matter what kind of hot mess I am.
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." 1 Peter 5:6-10
"He must increase, but I must decrease." - John 3:30
"And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die." - Revelation 12:11
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." - Galatians 2:20
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." - 2 Corinthians 5:17
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