Sometimes life offers the most subtle of moments to teach lessons that last a Lifetime. Earlier today while flipping through a Journeys catalog, my daughter pointed to a pair of shoes that she like. I like the shoes as well and told her that they really matched Her Style. She quickly reminded me that she did not wear shoes with the back out.
Of course, I've always known that she prefers to wear her foot covered, but suddenly I received an epiphany that I had never thought about before. She's been HIDING or COVERING a Part of herself that makes her who she is.
When she was about six years old, she cut the heel of her foot open on a piece of glass. The cut healed properly after stitches, but it left a small scar. Although she no longer feels the pain of the cut, the epiphany hit me today, that her cut had actually NEVER healed. She is remined EVERY SINGLE DAY of her foot accident as she consciously (or even subconsciously) decides whether or not to wear backless shoes in public. She's Only 12, but I quickly thought about how many days she has allowed the pain of the scar- (which is no longer physically painful) to remind her of the PAIN OF THE wound- (which has healed)! I quickly thought about how many days she has allowed the "potential" visibility of her scar to hinder her from wearing some of her favorite sandals during the summer months. I thought about all of the ways that she had "figuratively" been held captive by a scar.
Today, the Epiphany was so real that I quickly told her that her scar made her WHO she IS. Her scar is a part of her story. Without it, she wouldn't be SHE.
As simplistic as it seems, the message for me today is anything but SIMPLE. I am reminded that as a race of people, we naturally tend to hide our Imperfections, yet in essence it is those imperfections that make us PERFECT. Perhaps the things about us that we hide from the world- is what the world needs more of...our scars, our weaknesses, our imperfections, Our"self" without the masks and the coverings-or in my daughter's case, the socks over the uncovered heels.
I am thankful today for this revelation that I've been able to share with my daughter. I am prayerful that through our conversation today, I have inspired her to search more for authenticity than sameness-To search more for the brush to paint her own canvas, rather than to emulate the canvas of a friend, to search for the beauty in her SCARS so that she is able to share her true beauty with the world.
I hope that she can recognize her beauty in the same manner that I do...flawless, beautiful, perfect and HEALED!
Love and Blessings ❤🌞
