Eyebrows and Scars

I said that I was going to be transparent and honest, so, here goes! Full disclosure…I have never liked my eyebrows. They are thick and dark and I have never been able to “tweeze” them or shape them how I want because of 2 things. Scars. One on each eyebrow. One long, jagged scar is basically the full length of my eyebrow, and I got it when I was 6 or 7 years old.

It happened when my sister and I were showing my brother how to do a chicken fight on the swing set and, yours truly, lost. Big time. My dad had to hide me from my mom so she wouldn’t see the gaping wound above my eye while she ran inside to get a cloth to try and stop the bleeding. I remember my dad picking me up, and walking towards the car. I asked him, “Where are we going?” “We have to get you to the hospital to get stitches.” My response? I wrapped my legs around the fence and started freaking out that I didn’t WANT to go to the hospital. And I didn’t WANT stitches!!! Thankfully, my dad was stronger than me and we were able to get to the hospital. Four hours and 21 stitches later, 14 internal and 7 external, (don’t ask me how I remember this, numbers just stick in my brain), and we were back home. The thing I remember the most about this incident was how upset I was that I had to stay home from school the next day, because my eye was swollen shut, and miss the class field trip to my teacher’s farm. She had a pond. A POND. First grade excitement, ya’ll!!

So, this scar on my eyebrow I have managed to keep hidden for most of my life. Carefully tweezing around it. Never liking how my eyebrows looked, though….and tonight, as I was doing a little eyebrow maintenance, I quickly realized that I had put the attachment onto the razor the wrong way and said goodbye to the majority of my eyebrow!!! Oh NO!! My mouth dropped open and I started crying. “No, no, no!!” What had I done?!? I think I stood there for several minutes just staring and frantically searching my brain for any idea that could help me rectify this situation. If time travel was possible, I would’ve done it. No questions asked.

I texted my husband and told him what had happened. He wanted a pic. Never. He texted back, “Blog material, baby!” Oh my gosh. No. Never. His reply? “Thought you were going to be transparent…” Ugh. I started thinking about that. Asked God. You want me to be THAT honest and transparent? And then He showed me….through my husband telling me, “Nobody has control over you in regards to your looks. Nobody can hurt you unless you let them.” Both very true. Truths that I have been learning this year. Working through past hurts and unforgiveness. Letting go of the past. Forgiving. For ME. For my spiritual, mental, and emotional health. Someone hurts me? Forgive. It HAS to become automatic. And I can only do it with God’s help. Then the second truth came from Him. Whispering to my heart. “Beloved, remember those wounds and scars that you have kept hidden all of these years? And the work that we’ve been doing to expose them to be able to walk through healing? And the beauty that we find once you get to that place of healing and realize that I was there through all of those times in your past where you were hurt and the scars began to form? This is nothing compared to that. This is an eyebrow that will grow back over the scar. The other ones are scars that you are now willing to share with others to show them that it is possible to forgive. And be forgiven. And be healed. ”

So, there it is folks. The crux of this whole journey. God’s love exposing the truth. His light shining into the hidden places in our hearts. Healing the wounds. Forgiveness. Ugliness and shame replaced by beauty that can only come from God. I walked to the mirror again and looked at that scar. This time, as I looked at it, it had more meaning and I began to see the beauty in it…not that I won’t be glad when it grows back in, but for now, for tonight, it was a visual lesson. Don’t keep hiding your wounds. Don’t try to conceal your scars from people. Be real. Be honest. Be open. With yourself and others. And most of all, forgive. Forgiveness is crucial to being able to move forward and seeing the beauty in the scars.

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32