One of my favorite movie scenes is from the movie “Jaws” Three men are sitting in a boat telling the stories of how they got all their scars. Two of the men have scars from battling killer sharks and defending themselves from barracuda attacks, but Roy Schneider only has a scar from having his appendix removed. Life produces scars and every scar has a story.
I have a new scar this morning. Last night I tripped over something in the living room floor and hit my head on the fireplace. My friend and neighbor, Garvin, took me to the emergency room and 15 stitches later, I was as good as new. But, I will have a scar. Sadly, the ER doctor told me my dreams for a modeling career are over! The scar is about an inch long above my left eye and I look worse than normal this morning. My forehead looks like a war zone and my head is throbbing. But, I do have a story. Unfortunately, my scar story seems as silly as Roy Schneiders. I did not get my scar because of some heroic deed. I just tripped and fell and I feel a bit silly.
I try to learn from all my silly mistakes. I learned that light is better than dark when navigating the living room. I learned that good neighbors are important in a crisis. I learned that the human body will heal itself, but it does leave a scar to remind us of the stories.
December 4, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Well, Pastor Brady, I certainly hope you are okay! I had an incident in August. Our family took a little weekend trip to Alamosa the first weekend in August. The very first morning we were there, I fell and broke my left ankle. I was walking out of our hotel room and tripped over a slight step down and fell. This is the first time I’ve ever broken any bone. One thing that will a humble a person in a hurry is that life can change in a split second.
One belief that I have is that everything happens for a reason. There is no such thing as a coincidence or accident. I got to tell you that I was asking God very intensely as to what was the purpose in this. I really didn’t need this! When a major body part that we depend on is out of commission, the rest of the body has to pick up the slack. I was on crutches for two months and my right leg and both arms took a beating.
As He always does, God answered me. Now I greater respect for people that are either temporarily or permanently handicapped and have learned to appreciate the acts of kindness of other people. My wife, kids, and co-workers were great. They really took care of me.
Thanks to you and New Life Church for helping me feel this way – it wasn’t too long ago that I would have.
December 7, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Pastor Brady,
I just discovered your blog and wanted to thank you again for your prophetic input into my life this year. Your words at the presbytery were especially confirming and Donna and I continue to pray over them with a sense of expectation.
Blessings to you and your family this Christmas season,
Jack Abraham