HOW I ARRIVED AT KARRAN’S KORNER

Back in 2018 I attended a class at the church I was attending at that time.  There were several goals for the class, but one of them was to discover your strengths and gifts.  Once you did that, then the hope was that the women attending would discover a “Passion Project”, then move forward into developing that project.  

I had thought going into the class that I already knew what my project would be and had even done some research in preparation.  Well, that plan got disrupted in week 3 when our assignment was to write a devotional or an article/blog.  I really dug into that assignment and something awakened in my spirit that had been dormant for many, many years.  In those distant years past I had written a fair amount, but just for my own pleasure, not to be shared.  But when I wrote this assignment article something in my heart told me that this was my Passion Project.    

I will confess, that prompting was puzzling to me because I couldn’t figure out how this could be something to really help me or anyone else.  Then, I heard in my spirit – “write a blog.”  In all honesty, I had no idea what a blog even was or how to go about doing anything with it.  So I had to do some in-depth searching on the internet to get answers to those questions.  I found the answers to those burning questions and KarransKorner was born. 

So, on October 27, 2018 I published my first blog and invited people to subscribe.  It was slow going and I still haven’t set the world on fire with my words of wisdom – however, I do now have 79 followers.  (SO disappointed that it’s not up to at least half million!  Ha!)    But it has been a very satisfying outlet for me now for 7 years.  It’s especially encouraging when someone leaves a “like” and/or a comment on my blog with comments like “that’s exactly what I needed to hear today” or “good word!”  and similar expressions. 

If you haven’t yet checked out my blog or become a follower, just take a look.  No cost or obligation.  I won’t even know it’s you unless you choose to let me know.  If you decide to become a follower you will get an email once a week when my article goes live and you can unfollow any time you want to. 

In honor of this – my 7th anniversary as an official blogger (on Monday October 27) – I am submitting my first article (with a few minor revisions.)

SCARRED FOR LIFE?

“He was wounded for our rebellious acts.  He was crushed for our sins.  He was punished so that we could have peace, and we received healing from his wounds.”  (Isaiah 53:5 GW)

“He personally carried the load of our sins in his own body when he died on the cross so that we can be finished with sin and live a good life from now on. For his wounds have healed ours!.” (1 Peter 2:24 TLB)

“So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away—look, what is new has come!”  (2 Corinthians 5:17 NET)  

I once read a short story where the main female character in the book was in her late 20’s.  She’d been in a car accident with her parents when she was young – her parents were killed and it resulted in her having some bad scarring on her neck and arm.  Apparently the scarring was bad enough that she didn’t date when she got older because men were put off by the scars.  Consequently, she not only had the physical scarring to deal with, but also the emotional scars of rejection.  However, she adjusted and lived her life with an acceptance of her situation.  She chose a career that allowed her to be a loving, unselfish and nurturing person to people that needed that in their lives.  She was kind, considerate and loved deeply by those that she served.

As you would expect, the story developed to the point that she met a man that fell deeply in love with her almost immediately, because she was such a lovely and giving person.  At the beginning of their relationship, she was so self-conscious of the scars that if she thought he had even looked at them, and especially when he touched them, she would recoil thinking the worst.  But he saw past the physical scars to the person she really was and loved her anyway.

This story caused me to think about how we’ve all been through difficulties.  It starts when we’re children.  We rarely escape childhood without at least some small physical scars from typical accidents.  I doubt any of us escape without emotional scars as well.  It doesn’t matter how much a parent loves their child, they will say or do things that will have an effect on their psyche.  But if we’re fortunate enough that our parents are perfect in that respect, other children or adults will take care of that for us.  We all experience pain – both physical and emotional. The wounds are sometimes inflicted by people we don’t even know; but, most times it’s inflicted by people we like and/or love. We even inflict it onto ourselves. 

I personally still have a tiny physical scar on my face from childhood.  It’s of little significance to me now.  But I believe that I’ve likely struggled over the years with some very deep-seated emotional scars from my Dad – scars that made me feel less than worthy or successful in whatever I wanted to do or be.  I know he loved me, but he tended to be a person that expected a lot from everyone and was low in the praise department for positive things.  This didn’t make him a bad father or person – it made him human.  But it’s what we all tend to do to others – some of them we love very much – but we say and do things that leave scars.  It doesn’t have to be inflicted intentionally to result in issues for that person.

Regardless of whether the wounds are physical or emotional, sometimes the result is just a little superficial wound that causes pain for a few minutes.  Sometimes it’s a deep wound that takes much longer to heal – maybe it never truly heals.  But even a little superficial scratch can leave a scar.  It would likely be something that we rarely notice, if ever, and it doesn’t really affect our life.  The deeper wounds that leave the bigger scars can be more problematic for us, because unless a person is wealthy enough to have that more serious physical scar removed through plastic surgery; or, serious counseling for the emotional scars, it will remain as a reminder of what has happened.

How we handle these inevitable scars can influence our relationships with others.  They can distort our perceptions and reactions.  They can ruin otherwise good relationships.  So, it’s important to deal with them.  We can handle them in a couple of ways.  They can cripple us, causing us to basically withdraw from living – rather like packing a bag for our trip through life and chaining it to our ankle to be dragged along behind us 24/7, hindering too many things in our life.  Or, we can accept that it cannot be changed and move on – like leaving that bag full of negativity on the carousel at the airport and walking away.  We need to do whatever it takes to minimize the scarring.

Do we have to be scarred for life?  Well, the scar may be there for life; but, I don’t believe the effects of the scar have to be.  It’s a choice – our choice.  With the help of God, we can transform that scarring into something positive.  Just like that young lady who chose to move forward and serve others that needed her, instead of allowing it to hinder her and or make her bitter and uncaring.  Make your choice a wise one for the benefit of your life.

Written by Karran Martin – Originally posted 10/27/2018 – Revised & reposted 10/25/2025