Open Wounds
picture above: balloons being released by the grandkids after my mom’s memorial service this past August – yellow is my mom’s favorite color.
Note—this post is by Debie Thomas, originally posted on the Journey with Jesus blog.
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A few days ago, my daughter and I were looking at the websites of colleges she’ll apply to next year, noticing the buzzwords admissions committees use to highlight qualities they value. “High achievement.” “Determination.” “Initiative.” After a few minutes, my daughter frowned and moved away from the computer.
“They want battle scars,” she said bitterly. “Not open wounds.”
Her sentence stopped me cold. I don’t know if it’s an accurate assessment of college admissions in the U.S right now — I suspect it is. But what struck me about her remark is how painfully relevant it is to the Church. In my experience, Christians put a lot of stock in triumph and victory. We value the race won, the mountain scaled, the enemy defeated, the obstacle overcome. Sure, we welcome stories of sin and struggle, but only when those stories are shared in retrospect, long after the sordid worst is over. Sin that has surrendered to righteousness? That’s a Christian story. But sin that clings? Challenges that won’t ease up? A wound — physical, psychological, or relational — that festers? We squirm. We turn our eyes away. We worry. Battle scars, not open wounds.
I’d like to understand better why we do this. I’m sure there are several reasons, but here are a few I’ve been thinking about… Read More