I have a scar on the bridge of my nose. I don’t recall getting it, but my parents tell me I banged my nose on a coffee table when I was two and had to get stitches at the hospital.
I don’t ever remember a time not having the scar. In fact, if I looked in the mirror and saw it missing, it would catch me off guard. That scar is a part of me.
My main character in my upcoming release, The Way Back, my main character Laney has quite a history and a battle with some of her scars. Not just because they are difficult for her to allow others to see, but because they remind her of a painful part of her past.
This Lenten season as I finished up Laney’s story, I found myself focusing on the role of suffering in the life of a person of faith. How do we reconcile the two? What purpose can suffering play in our faith journey?
These are questions I don’t have complete answers to. As I recently walked through a time of trial involving some not uncommon but challenging health issues, I found myself a bit frustrated with God. Doesn’t He know I have things I want to get done for him?! I don’t have time for sleepless nights and doctor’s appointments and battles with anxiety. Who does?
Oh my.
The thing I love about Jesus is he’s so incredibly gracious. Every time I’ve gone through any time of suffering, he draws me closer. Why is that? Am I just desperate? Yes, but maybe that’s the idea. It’s in times of pain that I’m grasping for his hand. It’s in times of trial that I’m depending on him not to let me drown.
There’s comfort in arms that know the humaness of all I’m walking in and struggling with. He knows about suffering. He has the scars both inside and out to prove it. And yet those scars are part of who he is. They’re a symbol of his love and his victory over death.
I keep thinking of the disciple Thomas touching Jesus’s scars, needing to draw closer to his rabbi’s woundedness to realize the enormity of the miracle. Realizing that Jesus’s scars are indeed an important part of him, but they don’t solely define him. Love does. Resurrection and restoration do. And if Jesus rose from the dead, then everything’s going to be okay. His Kingdom is inaugurated here on earth and no matter where or how this email finds you . . . no matter if you’re feeling pretty good about things today or your deep in the bowels of suffering and depression, he is with you, inviting us into this beautiful, exciting story God started at the beginning of creation.
Happy Easter!
With Hope,
Heidi
Photo credit: Image by dae jeung kim from Pixabay