Scarred or Carved?

     Recently a beautiful young friend of mine shared her thoughts on the scar she received on her face from "being in the wrong place at the wrong time". I noticed the scar when I first met her, but I don't see it anymore.  She is such a beautiful spirit that she glows and the scar  is diminished in her light. She credited those scars for changing her life, in a good way.  So my mind started wandering around and around thinking about scars, physical and mental. I have scars too.  We all do.  Some are healed. Some are not.  Physically, I credit the scar I have from melanoma for changing my perception about life.  I was so worried that I might not live to see my daughters grow up.  Well, I did.  That scar is a daily reminder of the fragility of life and a victory of life.  My leg is forever marred, but it's inconsequential in the big picture of things.  That scar is healed, physically and mentally.  But I have some others that are not.  And it may be that I haven't let those emotional scars heal because of fear of being hurt again, the wounds keep me cautious and wary. 
     In order for wounds to heal, a scar has to form.  If the wound is opened continuously, there is no healing.  This observation made me think about the emotional wounds that people have that don't heal because the circumstances keep causing the wound to reopen.  It gives an insight into why people behave the way they do.   I also thought about how our scars identify us.  Wasn't it Thomas in the Bible, who recognized Jesus because of his wounds/scars?  Do our scars identify us?  Do they tell our story? 
     So the Universe scars us if we live a full life.  But doesn't a sculptor scar/carve the marble to bring out the beauty of the sculpture?  In the end, the marble is transformed into something that creates a deep feeling in the mind of the one who appreciates it, something of timeless beauty. The scars are no longer visible in the beauty of the art.  I say, embrace the scars, choose to let them heal, choose to be better because of them.  Choose to be a masterpiece!