13 May 2006

The Scars of Life

Some years ago, on a hot summer day in south Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind his shoes, socks and shirt as he went.

He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore.

His father, working in the yard, saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, his father ran toward the water, yelling to his son as loudly as he could.

Hearing his father's voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a u-turn to swim to his father. It was too late! Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the father, but the father was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard the screams and raced from his truck and took aim and shot the alligator.

Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived.
His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. On his arms were deep scratches where his father's fingernails dug into his flesh in his effort to hang on to the son he loved.

The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pan legs and the with obvious pride, said to the reporter, "But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms too. I have them because my Dad wouldn't let go of me."

You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars too. No, not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, He's been there holding on to you.

The scripture teaches that God loves you. You are a child of God. He wants to protect you and provide for you in every way, but sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead.

The swimming hole of life is filled with peril and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That's when the tug-of-war begins, and if you have the scars of His love on your arms, be very, very grateful. He did not and will not ever let you go.

Please pass this along to those you love. God has blessed you so that you can be a blessing to others. You never know where a person is in his/her life and what they are going through.

Never judge another person's scars, because you don't know how they got them. Also, it is so important that we are not selfish to receive the blessing of this message without passing on to someone else.

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