Then you see them

Scars make for good stories. I know, I have two of them. One on my knee from a surgery due to a soccer injury in college and one on my face from a bus accident in Thailand. Good stories because they speak of catastrophes diverted. Good stories because of the healing that followed. Ultimately good stories because the ones on His feet and in His hands are salvation.

Scars make for good stories. But maybe not always. In South Africa there are many scars. You see them all around - on the bodies of the young and the faces of the old, on the countryside covered with shanties and in the cities where the make-up of wealth simply brushes over like a pale powder rouge.

When you ask the children their favorite part of the day at Camp South Africa, often they say the pool time. Buying a swimsuit is an expense that many of them can not afford so they jump in the water in tattered underwear. And then you can see them, the scars on their bodies. In the evening times, we sing songs, dance and listen to testimonies of God's love and grace. The kids jump up and down and shout but when the stories come, most listen in that way that only those that share similar pain can. And then you can see them, the scars on their hearts. Merv, the South African man who leads up Camp South Africa, stands before them and asks who would like us to pray for them. Small hands are raised. Cyndy crawls onto my lap and wraps her arms around me. She begins to cry as she speaks of her daddy leaving her mommy. Johnbane and Deolyn's tears fall as they too talk of their fathers.

South Africa has been torn apart by the evils of apartheid. The wounds of separation are deep in not only the social and economical structures of the country but also in the spirit of the land and it's people. Scars make for good stories because they speak of healing. But not always as they also are a reminder of pain, that something has been marred, and can never be made quite right again.

His scars though are different, for not only are they marks of memory but an assertion of redemption, for in His scars, that which has been broken is not only healed but restored and made new. These are the scars that the children need to cover their wounds, that South Africa needs to find healing in, for in His scars alone are salvation. His scars are the good story.

(Picture by Angela)