I have never had to worry about stepping on a landmine. I am blessed to live in the United States and have never even had to think about them or their threat to my safety.
The thing is though that there actually are landmines in our lives, even if you don’t live in one of the countries marked in the above map. I learned this personally within the last twenty-four hours. I got blown and startled by a landmine of the heart. It was something deep and painful from half a decade ago that I had buried deep within my subconscious without even being away. The memory of a series of painful words, or a hurtful experience can leave gaping holes within our deepest heart of hearts. It is within those holes that landmines grow. They grow and they explode upon us at our moments of vulnerability, and they teach us to never go back to that same spot again, so the hole is left damaged and raw, unable to scar over because the wound will never close.
Our pain of the past is the key to the enrichment of our future, but in order for beauty’s potential to grow, it must start with a scar. To develop a scar, sometimes a landmine or two that has been carefully buried for decades must be blown within. You must address the lies, the abandonment and the pain so that you can turn your scarring memories into memories that leave a scar of beautiful triumph. A gaping wound is a breeding ground for an ever-present landmine. De-mine your heart and give the scars that need to surface a chance to heal. It will hurt, but the hurt will be temporary and the fields of your heart and mind will flourish in safety in the future.
Here’s to beautiful scars.