When I arrived at training camp at the beginning of the trip I absolutely loathed the scars that cover my arms. I had already paid $1,000 towards laser treatment.
I knew that it would only lighten them and that the scars were so deep that there was no way to take them away completely. I would have to live with them forever. What I hated the most about my scars was that people always noticed them and it would continuously remind my of the hurt I had been dealing with three years ago.
A couple of days into the trip when my teammates had seen my scars one of them told me that they were the fingerprints of Gods grace. When she said that, I blew it off and didn’t really think anything of it.
Then when were we waiting for our flight to leave from Amsterdam I was sitting with one of the leaders from another team and she saw my scars, touched them and told me that it was awesome.
Later that night on the flight I spoke to her and asked her why she said that and how much I hated my scars. She then began to explain to me how my scars are a perfect picture of Gods grace and of how God can transform our lives completely.
A couple of days after speaking to her I could not get her words out of my head. Then it clicked that God was speaking to me and telling me to love my scars and to use them to bring glory to Him. At first I had no idea what to think about it, but then I started to get really excited.
Throughout my trip in Africa I have had more people feel, stare and ask about my scars then I ever have before. At first it was hard to explain in a way that they could understand, until I realized that it just needed to be short and to the point. So I tell them exactly how it is: “I was once sick but God healed me.” And all they ever reply is, “Praise God. Amen”. The perfect response.
