Faith Filled Friday

Welcome back to Faith Filled Friday. It’s good to have you back. :)

Yesterday I read something that really stood out to me. It said: "I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions." These words were a total gift for me. My entire lifetime I have wanted to help people, to be an instrument of love. I noticed at a young age it was the only way I ever really felt good. Seeing a smile on a person's face was just a beautiful sort of motivation to me.

The more I thought about what I read, the more I realized that it's not merely good intentions I am stitched back together with, but the very actions of love I have projected by helping my fellow man. I admit that at times I put down something I should have completed so that I could help another. Or I give so much I have little for myself...this can be a flaw, but I will always believe in my heart that God is pleased with me for following my heart in loving other's...even perfect strangers.

In the end when stitches are pulled from their host we are left with scars that are not only visible on the exterior, but felt on the interior. These scars that span incredible distances and time are in fact the very teachers that carry sisterly lessons. Doesn't Jesus carry the scars in the palms of his hands and feet? For some reason I find that comforting that Jesus walked, lived and even died amongst us for us. The older I get the more I realize just how special that really is. 

Our inner and outer scars are surely reminders into marking and remembering the struggles in life we have been through. For me they are the bookmarks that tag the very chapters of survival through incredible fear, pain and heartbreak; still here, still living and most importantly, still loving. They bear witness in an innate ability to keep from turning jaded or bitter. How blessed I am to not turn to such things despite almost being the victim to it.

I will never be perfect, far from it. In fact I wear that transparency like a suit. And although scars are the bookmarks of celebration that we made it through, every breath of healing eventually brings me back to my favorite chapter of all: "Blessed to be Alive."

~John

P.S. I shot this week’s picture while in the assistance of a little one that needed some help. These moments are surely gifts when you realize that God himself has trusted you with his precious wildlife. Several birds, ducks, horses, dogs, cats, a turtle & one seriously soft rabbit! All part of one huge blessing! :)