A Body and its Scars

A contemplative moment

brings presence to be

I look over my body

and what do I see.

I considered the scar

that last year I sustained

but then I was drawn

to one my childhood contained.

Deeper knowledge came flooding in

at the level of my soul

and suddenly my soul’s awakened

unravelling me from whole.

There I ponder “ME”

apart from my earthly design

there I was before God

alone, there was me, just mine!

Standing there as if naked

before all of heaven’s acclaim

there as if I could see it all

and most to be seen was my pain.

These scars I bear, as I dare

were worth this burrowing within

for there they were, so easy to be seen

so God could show me the purpose of my sin.

See, far from the gaze of our judgemental way

is the Lord’s encountering touch

sin’s not meant to condemn

but to show us we’re trying too much.

The scars on my body

however ugly they may be

just help me to enter my soul

in order simply to see.

These bodily remembrances of past

that remind me of untenable regret

are left there on my body

in order that I may not forget.

Deeper still, the metaphor’s known

as body makes way for soul

there I find myself reflect

considering my scars and their role.

However real in my body

my scars make me to feel

the truth as it stands is sound

my scars cause me to heal.

Who would have thought my scars

would come to be the very foundation

upon which to enter the courts of God

and discover this true God of creation?