The Merciful Scar

Thursday, October 17, 2013
I groped in my pocket for the scissors and for an anxious moment I thought I’d lost them. When my fingers hit metal deep in the pouch I pulled them out into the light. The sky was a study in grays but still the blades took on a gleam, begging me to press them against my skin. I sat on the rocky ground, back against the stone tower, and pushed up my sleeve. Gooseflesh spread in the chill air, forcing the hairs to attention. I turned my arm over and studied the red-yarn scar on my wrist. Got on relief from that one, did ya? Pain sizzled through me. That couldn’t be. Something had to let the hopelessness out. It had to.

Book: The Merciful Scar by Rebecca St. James and Nancy Rue, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2013


Genre: Realistic Fiction
Target Audience: Girls 17+
Subjects: Cutting, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, Repressed Memories, Therapy, Family Relationships, Hope
Summary: The night she expects him to propose she sees him with her best friend. Embracing her. Instead of a proposal she gets a betrayal. As if she hasn’t faced enough in her life already, the two she is closest two betray her. So she resorts to her usual method of letting the pain out – cutting. She doesn’t intend to do anything different than normal, but when he breaks in, the cut goes deep and she’s rushed off to the emergency room and then to a mental hospital with everyone declaring her suicidal. Her absentee mom appears on the scene and threatens to tell her father unless she gets help. So she blindly agrees to pursue the contact the chaplain recommends, having no idea that she just agreed to go work on a sheep farm! Sister Frankie is not into stereotypical ideas of therapy, she’s into healing, letting God work on a heart and giving someone opportunities to remember and deal with their hurts.
Notes: Merciful scars is the story of three people dealing with deep pain and their journeys to healing. One young woman has dealt with a lot of dysfunctional family issues including a sister who is mentally handicapped and parents who don’t seem to love her or her sister. One woman served a tour in Iraq and had a best friend get killed and deals with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome as a result. One boy watched a horrid crime against his own mother when he was a young child and has forgotten what happened, and only has a vague sense of needing to avoid the one who loves him most. Each of these three have to learn to put their trust in God, recognizing that only He can heal the hurt and pain they are dealing with on a daily basis. The spiritual emphasis is the focus of the whole book. It’s not a focus on the despair the characters have faced, it’s a focus on the hope and healing that can come from a relationship with Jesus. I highly recommend this book as well as all authors by this author.
Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 5/5
Reviewer: J:-)mi

Malachi 4:2 – But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.

Psalm 95:7-8 – For he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts

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