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 mother in the house
was looking out the window saw the two as they got
closer and closer together. In utter fear, she ran
toward the water, yelling to her son as loudly as
she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became
alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother. It
was too late.
Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him.
From the dock, the mother grabbed her 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 mother, but
the mother was much too passionate to let go. A
farmer happened to drive by, heard her 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 mother's fingernails dug into his flesh in
her effort to hang on to the son she 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 Mom wouldn't let go."
You and I can identify with that little boy. We have
scars, too. No, not from an alligator, or anything
quite so dramatic. 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 here 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.
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 let you go.
God has blessed you, so that you can be a blessing
to others. You just never know where a person is
in his/her life and what they are going through.
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