When we were young children, we sometimes scraped our knees while running outside with friends. I can vividly remember falling off my bike and landing on the asphalt and tearing up my knee. I thought I could ride my bike without holding the handle bars. Okay…. I admit it wasn’t smart. A boy in our neighborhood had a unicycle and would ride up and down the street. I thought if he could do it with one wheel that I could surely do it with two wheels. Our parents would come to the rescue and clean up our wounds and place a Band-Aid on it. Somehow, we felt better with our parents’ attention and comforting words. After a while when it was time to remove the Band-Aid, we noticed that a scar had formed. As I look at my knees now, I can remember all the falls, bumps and scrapes I experienced. Even though my body is 50 plus years, I still see the scars and remember the place and time.
As we grow older and navigate through life, we continue to earn scars on our bodies and in our hearts. Some of the scars are visible for the world to see and others are hidden. The scars that remain hidden are scars of trauma, love lost, tragedy, violence or abuse. Those are the scars that sometimes take more time to heal.
Don’t ever be ashamed of the scars life has left you with. A scar means the hurt is over and the wound is closed. It means you conquered the pain, learned a lesson, grew stronger, and moved forward. A scar is the tattoo of a triumph to be proud of.
Like many of you, I have experienced heartache, depression and hurt. I believe that the years have helped me look at them differently. When going through the moment of pain, we can’t see anything beyond what is happening. We focus on the pain, and hurt. It takes time to heal those wounds. There is no quick fix or Band-Aid that will make if go away or even feel better at the moment. Time is the key. I never believed it until I experienced the ending of my first marriage. I was so angry and hurt. A wise friend told me that time would be my friend and help through the recovery process.
Listening to your friend without trying to fix the problem is the best thing you can do to help. They don’t need your advice. They need for you to listen with an open heart and no judgement. Let them be in the moment.
Have a Blessed Day!
Love,
Stella Stevens
Stella Stevens 