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 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, he ran toward the water,

yelling to his son as loudly as he could. Hearing his 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 his screams, raced from his truck,

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. And, 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 pant legs. And then,

with obvious pride, he 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." 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.

You just 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 blessings of these messages, without forwarding

them to someone else. Right now, someone needs to know that God loves

them, and you love them, too - enough to not let them go .