Soul Scars

Valerie Cullers 50 Comments

monument-412941_640Image by Nini. Courtesy of Pixabay.

A week ago, I was changing a bandage on a wound. It was about three weeks old and the scar tissue had begun to form. I thought, “Well, I need to put some alcohol on this to make sure there are no germs there.” I got my bottle of alcohol out of the cupboard, put it on a cotton ball and got ready to feel some real pain as I knew the alcohol would sting. To my surprise, there was no pain. You see, scar tissue does not have any nerve endings when it begins to form. The nerve endings have been cut in the surrounding tissue, and initially, a person feels nothing.

I began to wonder about our soul scars. If someone could see our souls, what would they look like? Would there be wounds that had healed completely and others that were in the process of healing? Would there be wounds that were festering and causing us pain? I think if people could see our souls, they would see all three kinds of wounds.

The most obvious would be the wounds that were still open, still in the healing process. Sometimes life wounds us deeply with the loss of a loved one or some other deeply personal loss. These wounds may take years to heal, and only as our grief is felt or expressed can we truly heal. Tears are a valuable form of therapy with these kinds of wounds as they wash them and keep them clean while they are healing.

The least obvious would be the wounds that have healed and the scars have become part of our soul’s makeup. If you look closely at them, you will see that the area around them is healthy and whole and sometimes the scars have healed so well they are difficult to discern. 

A Soul Physician would be very concerned about the wounds that are still festering, where there is infection. We all have those kinds of wounds whether we realize it or not. They are the wounds that have not been taken care of and no healing balm has been applied to them. Usually the infection has been caused by unforgiveness and a person must purposely set out to do their part in the healing process. 

 Festering wounds must be acknowledged and we must be ready to be healed from them. We must be willing to apply the disinfectant of forgiveness to them and let go of all of our unforgiveness and bitterness. Will there be pain when we lance these kinds of wounds? Yes, they may have been festering for years, but as their purulence is released there will be a peace that takes its place.

Oh, the sweet peace of forgiveness, may it blanket our souls and make us healthy and whole!

“Forgive us our sins, for we forgive everyone who sins against us.” Luke 11:4

50 thoughts on “Soul Scars”

  4. Spot on! Some people think that forgiveness is for the person having committed the trespass but it is not. It is especially for the one doing the forgiveness! It is a healing balm that can only be applied by the wounded person to their own hurts.

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  8. Amen! This was very good, Valerie. Thank you for sharing. Yes, we must be sensitive in our spirits to these types of things so that we do not let wounds fester but so we are doing what needs to be done to advance their healing. Good reminder to be aware. Thanks.

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  14. You seem to seek healing via your Art. … ? Confession and sacraments are really the only route i believe to let God clean your well, heal your scars. I pray you find a priest you can trust and open up to . With Your sins. Otherwise you stay theoretical, abstract or worse: shift the blame on others .

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    • I do not seek healing through my writing. I want others to consider the fact that the forgiveness the give to others will help heal their souls. That is all. The forgiveness we extend to others is a healing balm for our soul and truly necessary if we are going to live a life full of grace and truth!

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      • The capacity of evil within me certainly outweighs the evil that was ever done to me. This realization in itself lets me forgive others. It is my own shortcomings in extending my love to others, that troubles me most. Forgiveness is relatively easy. Love is the big one. All writing is confession. That is I think why there are no orthodox Christian artists, writers… Gogol burned his later works. … As for Dostojewsky, I don`t know. We all seek confession somewhere …

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