Mail. Its a beautiful thing. After a long day of sweating, getting laughed at, slammed doors, rejection, unanswered calls, and all the other great things that come with being a missionary, there is nothing better than walking up to the mail box in anticipation. "Is there a letter?! I hope its mine...if Elder Dye gets one today and I don't I'm gonna be mad...he always gets mail...I get a lot of mail too...its probably mine...its probably his...its probably empty...if there's one in there I hope its mine...please!" Those are just a few thoughts to go with the heart pounds and the butterfly jumps within the stomach. Once you finally get to the box, you hurriedly put the key in and twist and.......over half of the time its empty. A box with air in it. I call it, "Air-box." Well, that wasn't the case today right after lunch. I got a letter from my Old Man! Elder Dye checked the mail today and faked like he was gonna rip the letter as he handed it to me. He was a little bitter....haha. The letter was a story called the Scars of Life, and I would like to share it. It was written by Tanay Kumar Das....
"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 father, working in the yard, saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, he ran toward the water, yelling to his son as loudly as he could.
Hearing his voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his father. It was too late. Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached the boy.
From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator with his fierce grip was very powerful, and the father with his incredible love eliminated all thought of letting go.
A farmer happened to drive by, and hearing the commotion, grabbed a gun from his truck, raced over, took aim, shot, and killed 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 father's fingernails dug into his flesh in his effort to hang on to the son he loved.
The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked the boy if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with grateful pride, he said to the reporter, 'But look at my arms. I have great scars on them too. I have them because my Dad wouldn't let go.'
You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars too. No, not from an alligator, 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 scriptures teach 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, not knowing what lies ahead. 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 ever let you go.
You just never know where a person is in his/her life and what they are going through. Never judge another person's scars, because you don't know how they got them."
Yes, I liked this story too.
I Stand All Amazed....at the incredible love of our Heavenly Dad.
