Scars & Compassion

My sister wrote a post on Facebook today about her hands and she posted a photo of her hands.  She mentioned a scar that she has and how she got it from a calf bite.  I looked at my own hand and I have a crescent shaped scar on the knuckle just below my pointer finger.  I was washing a glass in 1980 when I lived in Colorado and it broke.  Created quite a nasty cut on my hand and I remember wearing a huge bandage for a couple of weeks to protect the wound and protect my customers (I was a waitress) from seeing the wound. 

It got me thinking about scars on our bodies.  Isn't it ironic that I can remember the incident that lead to the scar on my hand?  I have scars on each knee from some nasty scrapes and I can tell you where and how those happened too.  All these incidences were a minuscule amount of time in my lifeline, yet I can remember them exactly, even the one that occurred almost 60 years ago.  

I wonder why do we remember these scars?  Scarring is a natural part of the healing process.  Scars, of course are a physical, visible reminder to us of the wounds we have endured.  Physically, we have healed and moved on with our lives.  

Something that is more difficult to see are the emotional or mental scars.  So often these types of wounds are not a one-time incidence, but possibly years of being cut, torn apart, or abused. These wounds may take years to recover from and heal.  They leave scars on our souls and our spirit.  Just like our visible, physical scars, we may not think about them until sometime, these scars can feel like they have been ripped open again as we react to something that is said or done to us.  Then we must start the process of healing again.  

Of course the healing process is different for each of us.  Some wounds require the professional help of a doctor, therapist and/or medication.  All wounds require the help of the Master Healer, God.  Time heals all wounds.  For some people with wounds, their end of time (death) will be the healer.  For others, it may take weeks or years.  

We never know what type of wounds and scars the people we meet have endured.  Their actions and behaviors may show us, and maybe not.  Compassion for all is important. Compassion motivates people to go out of their way to help the physical, spiritual, or emotional hurts and pains of another.  



In typical "Rambling Rayna" fashion, I have gone from writing about scars to writing about compassion.  Our physical and emotional wounds all require compassion.  Whether it's a mother picking the gravel out of your knee or you cry tears of pain as you bandage your own cut.  Compassion heals!

Luckier than Most

Every day that I'm alive and well and can see and hear with devices, I feel blessed.  Some days, like today, I feel lucky!  I think "lucky" involves some unexpected blessings.  

We are headed back home to Hudson.  In Escanaba, Michigan Paul was driving 55 MPH on a divided four lane road when a vehicle went the wrong way on the road and was coming straight at us.  Ohhh yes!  All I could say was "OH, OH, OH!"   I was pushing myself back into the seat preparing for impact.  Paul swerved to the right and then I mentally prepared myself to be rear-ended.  Luckily, yes LUCKY for us, there was no one in the right lane.  The vehicle did not stop and missed us and drove across the two lanes in front of other vehicles to pull into a shopping center.  I think that we were lucky that Paul was driving, as I am not sure how well I would have reacted.  I told Paul, "I didn't even have time to pray!"  

Now, that is MOST lucky we were today, the following are more calmer versions of lucky.  As we drove into Wisconsin, we saw a county sign for Long Slide Falls and both said, "Let's see what's there."  We could hear the falls the minute we got out of our cars in the parking lot.  A short walk and we were overlooking a 50 foot drop of river, rushing over the rocks.  I don't know if I have seen that much water going over a falls.  I took some photos and then I went down the "rugged terrain" on a slippery, rocky path that was about 12 inches wide at the most.  I got to the bottom and realized that I couldn't even see the top of the fall, just the bottom two-thirds.  It was a awesome moment to take photos and video (on my phone).  Luckily, I made it down and up again.  

We found another sign for 12 Foot Falls and went back five miles in the State Forest and got some photos from across the river.  Not as impressive, but still a beauty to see on such a sunny day.

Checked into hotel and looked on TripAdvisor for our dinner spot.  A lot of places are only open for breakfast and lunch, so I chose a place in the middle of the pack (as far as traveler ratings) located on a lake.  When we arrived, the parking lot was full and I was surprised there were so many customers on a Monday night.   Lo and behold, the local Crandon Water Sports were having a water-skiing show!  What fun to watch skiers of all ages doing tricks, acrobatic stunts, and pyramid skiing on the water.  How lucky could we get?

Today, we were very lucky!