I am delighted to be hosting Spiritual Journey Thursday this month. This month our theme change/transformation--a perfect theme for the season. Please link up below if you would like to join us.
I thought I knew what I was going to write about this month, but you know what they say about best laid plans. All that changed after reading Ruth Ayres' lead from last week's Choice Literacy newsletter. And this post is more of a brain dump than an organized, coherent piece of writing.
Ruth wrote about her son Jay and his powerful story about chasing dreams and not letting his past control his decisions. She wrote about how difficult and frustrated teachers can become with students who experience deep trauma. Their decisions and choices don't always make sense. She explains that this happens "when a child is scraped by darkness at the start of life"
The words "scraped by darkness" stayed with me the entire day. After school, I told a colleague about what she wrote, and he says, "I wonder why she chose scraped by darkness instead of scarred."
Of course I have no idea why she chose those them, other than the fact that she is a master at stacking words. But these words have lingered on my heart.
For days, I thought about the differences between the words scrapes and scars. Most scrapes are temporary and can change, but scars are permanent. I touch a scar on my knee, and I can go back to the night I knelt on a needle, and it broke off in my knee.
We tend to forget about scrapes because they can sometimes heal and become invisible, but scars are a constant reminder of pain. I think about the "scars" from my relationship with my dad. I cannot touch those, but I know they are still there.
I believe that we have both scrapes and scars because God wants us to understand the role they play in our lives, in our faith. I know I have been scraped and scarred in my relationships with others as well as with Him.
But it is through His grace and my relationship with Him that I become healed, changed, and transformed.
Here's my post! Thanks for hosting!
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(Sorry, I can't connect to the Inlinkz from the network I'm on right now.)
ReplyDeletescraped by darkness--it helps make sense of a lot, actually. It gives me words to understand a bruise or scratch left to recover from. Thank you. I wrote out a whole post and decided last night not to post it. It was similar in that something Georgia Heard wrote in her Oct. 1 newsletter struck me. I may revisit it today. It's funny how SJT writing has to be just right for me to post...or not. Sometimes, I just need more time to ponder the idea. Thank you for hosting today.
ReplyDeleteLeigh Anne, I have somehow been out of the Spiritual Journey loop - I thank Margaret for reaching out this week to let me know you are hosting. Thank you for this beautiful theme on overcoming. how true it is that scars remain as forever reminders. That was in my mind already today when I wrote of the losses in NC following Helene. I know that God is always speaking to us in our pain, and that out of every loss comes a potential for restoration. Thank you for this timely message of hope.
ReplyDeleteI love how all your thinking leads to His grace and relationship. I'm hoping to build a stronger relationship with Him through reviving some of my habits that have lagged lately. I'm pairing my scripture reading with inspirational reading and currently reading Start with Hello for one of my book clubs. So much to ponder.
ReplyDeleteThinking of you during this difficult season with your mom. Hugs and prayers!
Gosh that is a powerful contrast, Leigh Anne. Perhaps in choosing scraped there is a hope of healing? Either way, both transform. And both need prayer. Thank you for hosting is and for the prompt!
ReplyDeleteLeigh Anne, "Scraped by Darkness" is an interesting set of words. I have some scars that are deep in my soul. I never thought of these memories with such a dynamic prompt so I may play with that someday. Writing on change and transformation took me several days to compose. I like that our group is called Spiritual Journey and that our topics change each month. Someday I would to have enough time to read my posts in chunks or years. Thank you for hosting.
ReplyDeleteLeigh Anne, scrapes and scars both leave their mar on us. One is temporary and soon forgotten while the other stays with us as a reminder of something that has happened. I sometimes think that the emotional scars we have are more difficult to deal with than the physical ones. That is when we need God's help the most. Thank you for hosting this month. Bob
ReplyDelete"Scraped by darkness" is a powerful way to describe trauma especially with students. It is stunning the research coming out about trauma. Thank you for hosting and this thoughtful post.
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