The Scars that Didn't Stop Him

It happened so quickly.

One moment, my grandson, Augustino, was running, laughing, chasing after Christopher and Jonathan, determined to keep up with every step they took. And the next … he fell.

The kind of fall that makes your heart pause as you imagine it unfolding.

His face met the ground. The kind of impact that leaves a mark.

And for a brief moment, everything stood still.

I wasn’t there to see it happen … but as I heard about it, I could picture it so clearly.

He cried, but only a little. Not the kind of cry that lingers … just enough to acknowledge the pain.

And then, almost as quickly as he fell, he got back up.

No hesitation.

No overthinking.

No retreat.

He looked ahead… saw where his brothers were… and started running again.

Because that's Augustino; the fall for him wasn’t the story.

Keeping up was.

Not missing out was.

Being with them mattered more than the pain he had just experienced.

And as I heard the story, I couldn’t help but feel the weight of what it revealed.

Because isn’t that where so many of us struggle?

We fall … and instead of getting back up, we sit in it.

We replay it.

We define ourselves by it.

We let the scars speak louder than the calling.

But Scripture calls us to something different.

In Philippians 3:13–14, Paul writes:

“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

But pressing on doesn’t mean pretending the fall didn’t happen.

It means the fall doesn’t get the final word.

Scripture reminds us in Proverbs 24:16:

“For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again…”

Not if they fall.

When.

Falling isn’t failure.

Staying down is.

And maybe that’s the quiet invitation in all of this …to stop staring at the ground where you fell … and start looking ahead to where He’s calling you.

Because the truth is your scars were never meant to stop you.

They’re evidence that you’ve been in the fight.

That you’ve lived, risked, trusted… and yes, even stumbled.

But God doesn’t define you by the moment you hit the ground.

He calls you forward by the purpose still in front of you.

So here’s the question:

Where have you fallen that God is actually asking you to rise from?

Not perfectly.

Not without marks.

But with your eyes fixed ahead.

Because there’s still more.

More steps to take.

More ground to cover.

More moments you were never meant to miss.

And maybe today … getting back up is the most important step you’ll take.

If this resonates with you, I invite you to go deeper.

My book, Ink From Heaven's Pen: Faithful & True Reflections, is a journey through the very truth we often forget that God doesn’t waste our wounds … He redeems them.

And what feels like the end of your story may actually be the place where He begins something new.

You can learn more and grab your copy here on my website.

Because your story matters!