Scars Can Come in Handy

By

A magical thing happened yesterday. I was eating scrambled eggs with Adele and I noticed her beautiful scar above her eye. It really almost glowed in the morning light. I gently touched it and told her it was beautiful, before I even really thought about what I was saying. (Our usual impulse is not to mention it, since it sometimes causes everyone pain or embarrassment to mention it.) She scrunched her face, but her eyes were also dancing and hopeful. She asked, “How is my scar beautiful?” That was a challenging question. How? I remember resenting the fact that God let her face be marred. So even my own heart was still tender about it. But I told her what came to me at that moment, “It’s a story... about you and your sisters. You were playing, having so much fun. Do you remember? Your sisters were spinning you.” Even before I finished saying that, Avril was walking in to the kitchen with her head in a book asking, “Mom! What’s an underground? Listen to this passage. Dumbledore says, ‘Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London underground.’” Adele and I gasped. We couldn’t believe the timing. Avril had no idea we were talking about Adele’s scar. Norah came in, naturally. We discussed the timing, the story, the scar on Dumbledore, the one on Harry, and we talked about the one on Adele’s face, too. This brought up lingering guilt about what happened, apparently. The sisters had been spinning her. “It was stupid of us.” We discussed the influence they get to have on each other as sisters and we all agreed that even with the risks, it’s a really good thing to be a sister. And will you believe it? They laughed and Norah picked Adele up and spun her around the kitchen before I stopped it and shooed them off to chores. They ran away laughing. It all happened so naturally. It was only later that I fully recognized the magic we had been under. That might have been the first time Adele had been spun by a sister since she had been hurt. God was at at work here, allowing the girls to confess lingering guilt and be truly reconciled and set free, healing the scars (seen and unseen) left from their mistakes, redeeming it all, making it all beautiful, as He always does. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

By
Image
"...the child should have a set time everyday to read for fun. Begin with half an hour for first graders, and build up to an hour of reading time daily... This is an important part of the child's education: it improves his reading skills, teaches him the habit of sitting still with a book, and reminds him that reading is fun... free reading ought to be spent on literature at or slightly below the child's present reading level so that he can simply enjoy himself. The easier reading will help him increase his speed." The Well Trained Mind: The Guide to Classical Education at Home by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer
Read more

Andrew Peterson's Songs That Celebrate Marriage and Family

By
Recently, I got to go to an Andrew Peterson concert at the Community Coffehouse in Danbury, CT. My dear friend and I didn't realize the show was sold out when we arrived.  But luckily, the lady at the door showed us pity, let us pay for tickets that didn't exist, and go in. We were willing to stand at the back, but we were able to find space on a bench at the back of the hall. I knew a few of the songs he sang that evening, but many of them were new to me because I have a hard time with new music.  I'd rather sing a song I already know by heart a hundred more times than hear a new song through even once. I know it is a problem that I need to work on if for no other reason than for the sake of my poor husband and daughters who have to hear the same albums everyday for a year. No, really. A year. At least. I have been giving myself permission to buy new music for this reason. So I came home that evening or maybe it was the next day and I purchased three of hi
Read more

Astronomer Shoe Boxes for Challenge B

By
Image
  Avril finished her astronomer shoeboxes for Challenge B.   The Challenge B students have all done research and projects on astronomers throughout this first semester.  Now, students choose two (or more) astronomers in secret and provide clues to the astronomers' identities in their shoeboxes.   For instance, if an astronomer made telescopes, sang opera, played piano, discovered binary stars or Uranus, studied eclipses, lived in a simple, log cabin, or made a map of Washington D.C., you might include some of those items to your shoe boxes as hints.  Student bring in their shoeboxes, and classmates get a chance to guess who the astronomers are based on what's inside the boxes.  Can you guess who Avril's astronomers are based on the pictures above?  Hint: Her two boxes actually represent three astronomers total.  
Read more