The Scars

Some years ago on a hot summer day in south

Florida, A little boy decided to go for a swim in the

old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry
to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back

door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as

 he went.

He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam

toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was

swimming toward the shore. His mother in the
house was looking out the window saw the two as

they got closer and closer together. In utter fear,

she ran toward the water, yelling to her son as
loudly as she could.
 

Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed

and made a U-turn to swim to his mother. It was too

 late. Just as he reached her, the alligator
reached him.
 

From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy

by the arms just as the alligator snatched his

legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between
the two. The alligator was much stronger than the

mother, but the mother was much too passionate

 to let go.

A farmer happened to drive by, heard her
screams, raced from his truck, took aim and

shot the alligator. Remarkably, after weeks and

weeks in the hospital the little boy survived.
His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious

attack of the animal, and on his arms, were deep

scratches where his mother's fingernails dug into
his flesh in her effort to hang on to

the son she loved.

The newspaper reporter, who interviewed the boy

after the trauma, asked if he would show him his
scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with

obvious pride, he said to the reporter, "But look at

my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too.
I have them because my Mom wouldn't let go."

You and I can identify with that little boy. We have

 scars, too. No, not from an alligator, or anything

quite so dramatic. But the scars of a painful
past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have

caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend,

are because God has refused to let go.

In the midst of your struggle, He's been there

 holding on to you. The Scripture teaches that God

 loves you. You are a child of God. He wants to
protect you and provide for you in every way. But

sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations.

The swimming hole of life is filled with peril -
and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack.
That's when the tug-of-war begins - and if you

have the scars of His love on your arms be very,

very grateful. He did not and will not - let you
go.

Please pass this on to those you love.

If you see someone without a smile, stop ... and

give them yours (:-) God has blessed you, so

that you can be a blessing to others. You

 just never know where a person is in his/her
life and what they are going through. That is

 why it is soooo important that we are not

selfish to receive the blessings of these

messages without forwarding them to

someone else.
 

Author Unknown

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