Like most of us, I wear a few scars. Some are good scars and some are hard scars.

Playing with our cousins on the farm in Kansas, I scooted under a barbed wire fence that caught my lower back and left a scar. I loved visiting the farm, climbing in the hayloft, driving tractor and sort of helping with chores. Things I just didn’t get to do as a town kid.

I have a nice scar on the side of my right knee. I had a ganglion cyst that would grow in size when I would exercise. It was removed, and then came back, so had to have two surgeries. But it reminded me of the time I was able to work out regularly. It’s a scar of activity and health.

In college, we were having a water fight. We filled pitchers with water and threw them at each other. I didn’t realize someone was chasing me, I turned and the pitcher met me just above the left eye. I was bleeding pretty good, so posed as Rocky with blood running down my chest. Then I realized it was probably going to take a few stitches to close the wound, which it did. I had a lot of fun in college. Maybe too much fun, but it’s a scar of an enjoyable segment of my life.

We were preparing for our son’s high school graduation and it was determined that our windows needed to be cleaned. We had an old house with old windows, that had counter weights. One particular window was missing the weights, but didn’t miss my index finger. A trip to the ER to get a few stitches ensued. But graduations are important and pivotal times for families. It changes the dynamic of our homes and marks a significant step for the graduate.

There are also hard scars. I had 18 inches of colon removed due to a history of diverticulitis. I had to “clean out” for a colonoscopy and then wasn’t able to eat until the surgery was completed. Three days without food wasn’t fun and it was also a painful recovery. It was a hard stretch.

I had skin cancer removed from my nose. Unfortunately, they needed to do a MOHS procedure, which is testing the margins to make sure they got all the cancer. It left a big hole, that led to a long scar. It took a while for the scar to heal and still looks a bit Frankenstein-ish. It’s hard to have such a visible scar.

There are a couple scars on my chest where they put a tri-port for my cancer treatment. It was to take and test blood samples and to deliver fluids and medicines. The port took daily maintenance and I had to wrap myself in Saran Wrap to take a shower. It was a hard stint.

My colon resection led to having no pain or meds from diverticulitis.
My skin cancer is gone and the scar has faded a bit over time.
The port allowed an efficient method to take blood and deliver nutrients that I needed.

Sometimes hard things lead to good things.
I’m guessing you have good scars and hard scars.
Some of our scars are visible, some are hidden.

Who knew we could be grateful for scars?