Scars

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 and looking out the window, saw the two as theygot 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 toolate. 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 muchstronger 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 thehospital, 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 duginto 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, withobvious pride, he said to the reporter, "But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Mom wouldn't let go." You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No, notfrom 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 beenthere 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 whatlies 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 yougo.Please pass this on to those you love. God has blessed you, so that you canbe a blessing to others. You just never know where a person is in his/her life and what they are going through. Never judge another persons scars, because you don't know how they got them. Also, it is soooo important thatwe 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 that you love them too: enough to not let them go.