Proclaim Trust

The Scars of Life

Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida a little lad 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 realising 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 lad 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 lad 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 lad 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 lad after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The lad 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 mum wouldn't let go.'

You and I can identify with that little lad. 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, are because God has refused to let go.

In the midst of your struggle, he's been there holding on to you. The Bible teaches that God loves you, and he wants to be part of your life, and that he provides protection for you.

But sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations. The swimming hole of life is filled with all kinds of dangers - and we forget that often it feels like we’re under 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.

Once we allow him to be part of our life, he will never let go.