Scars are testimonies of battles won

By Anne Mukei

Time is supposed to heal all wounds. Or so the experts will tell you. But it does not always work out that way.

What the wise ones really ought to tell us is that time teaches all lessons. Time takes what was meant for evil and turns it into good, because with time comes clarity and understanding. It is when we understand things that we can accept them for what they were, rather than remember them for the pain they caused.

Take the death of a loved one such as losing a parent, or even a child, that died before their time. The pinch of death is swift and beyond painful. It hits you like a tonne of bricks which then proceed to bury you under their unrelenting weight for days, months and very often, years. Actually, some people mourn their loved ones their entire lives.

In that period of grief, the only word that your lips will form voluntarily is, “Why?” None of it will make sense. How can it when your world is shattered?

You ask yourself how the sun can still shine when your life has come to a standstill. You ask yourself how others can afford to laugh and eat when you can barely go through the motions.

You ask and ask until, after a time, life begins to reveal itself again. And you begin to understand that it is possible to live after someone you love dies. Indeed, to live with more meaning and purpose than you did before they passed on. You now try to pack your days with more meaning. You finally understand what they mean when they say that life is short.

The wound left by death becomes a scar that now serves as a reminder of love lost and lessons learned. Where the injury was once rancid with unresolved anger and bitterness, it is now healed, sealed and fading with the passage of time. New experiences begin to cast old hurts in a different light. The scars become a testament to battles well fought and wars hard won.

At the end of the day, it is with pride that we carry our scars, no matter what has caused them, because with every minute that passes, every day that goes by, time is giving us the chance to know better, to do better and to be better.

Time opens up a space for wounds to transform from injury to opportunity. So every time you look at your battle scars, remember all the lessons you have earned and to make the most of every opportunity that is now available to you as a result.