Battle Scars

My kids' best friend was driving home with us the other day from a soccer game. As we went along, I was listening to the three of them converse on a variety of topics. I always enjoy listening to the conversations of kids. Children have a way of talking about very mundane things in the most serious fashion! As we drove, the topic somehow shifted to the various injuries the three had suffered throughout their many, long years on the earth! My son (8) recalled how, as a toddler, his finger had gotten smashed and he lost a fingernail (which fortunately grew back). My daughter told the tale of having to receive an IV at the hospital when she was 2, and how she sledded into a brier bush a few winters ago, her cheek still bearing a tiny scar from the traumatic event! Their friend recalled many tales of bike crashes and apparent brushes with death!

As I held back laughter, I was reminded, as each tried to "up" the others' tales of survival, of the scene in the movie Jaws where the three men on the boat are drinking and showing off their scars from shark attacks, moray eel encounters, gunshot wounds and shell shrapnel. Finally, after raising their glasses and drinking a toast to one another's leg scars, the boat's gnarly captain, Quint, opens his shirt revealing his bear chest, and, pointing to the center, says "See right here?" "Yeah," the others replied, squinting to see. "Mary Ellen Moffet. . . She broke my heart!" Whereby, the three drunken men erupt in laughter.

What is it about humans that we seem to have a need to tell of the battles we've encountered, the wounds we have survived, and the scars we bear? When I was listening to the kids, I was fascinated by the fact that, at such a young age, they have this need to retell tales of traumas past! There was an air of pride in their speaking as they each tried to outdo the others' story. It was to me very clear what each was saying: "I suffered! I survived! Hold me in awe!"

As the conversation died down, I was reminded in a sweet way of how Christ bears the most awesome, inspiring, incredible scars of all, and how we should be telling the story over and over and over about how He suffered on our behalf, and then raise our glasses high around the Lords' table and drink the cup of blessing together! He suffered! He rose again! Hold Him in awe!

"Therefore, as it is written, let him who boasts, boast in the Lord!" (1 Cor. 1:31)

Digging Deeper

My daughter had to recently recite a poem as part of school. Rather than a lengthy poem, she chose to recite several small ones. Her favorite was this one by Robert Louis Stevenson:

At the Sea-side

When I was down beside the sea

A silver spade they gave to me

To dig the sandy shore.

My holes were empty like a cup.

In every hole the sea came up

Till it could come no more!

We've all experienced digging in the sand at the beach, and noticing how, when you reach a certain depth, the hole rapidly begins to fill with water! My kids love seeing how far down they can dig, and then enjoy standing in the pool created! The deeper one digs the hole, the more water fills it up!

A fitting picture, I think, for the Christian life! The deeper we go in our faith, the more profoundly we seek to know our Savior, the more enthusiastically we dig into His word, then the more He is pleased to fill us up with His Spirit, His blessings, His joy, His peace. . . we find that we simply cannot avoid being filled with the goodness and wisdom of God! If, on the other hand, we are feeling empty, it may be wise to ask ourselves if we are taking the time to really dig deeper in our love for and knowledge of the Lord.

So grab your shovels, everyone, and lets hit the spiritual beach!