Reason #113

My butterfly tattoo has starting scabbing. According to my brother, the experienced tattooee, that means the tattoo is almost "healed." Luis, the tattoo artist, told me not to pick at the scab, and that if I did, I would mess up the tattoo. I wasn't really sure what the scab was supposed to look like, but it just looks like dry dead skin. And according to Luis, once the scab is completely gone, the tattoo will be shiney because of the new skin.

Scabs, the last stage in the healing process. An open wound is painful but after the majority of the healing has come, a hard, ugly scab is the last thing that is left. A clue that the healing is almost complete. Well, I did a little research on scabs so that I could better understand why they occur and what their purpose is. Knowledge is power, right? I want to share with you what I found because A.) it is educational B.) it explains the scabbing process better than I can, and C.) the first sentence is hilarious.

You're running around with your friend, laughing your head off, when suddenly you trip over a rock and hit the ground. As you pick yourself up, you notice that your knee is bleeding. But while you're trying to figure out where that rock came from, the blood from the cut on your knee is already busy at work creating a scab.

As soon as you scrape or break the skin anywhere on your body, special blood cells called platelets (say: playt-lits) spring into action. Platelets stick together like glue at the cut, forming a clot. This clot is like a protective bandage over your cut that keeps more blood and other fluids from flowing out. The clot is also full of other blood cells and thread-like stuff called fibrin (say: fy-brin) that help hold the clot together.

So now you're home, you're cleaned up, and you're not bleeding anymore. But things are still happening on your knee. As the clot starts to get hard and dries out, a scab forms. Scabs are usually crusty and dark red or brown. Their job is to protect the cut by keeping germs and other stuff out and giving the skin cells underneath a chance to heal.

If you look at a scab, it probably just looks like a hard, reddish glob. But under its surface, all kinds of things are going on. New skin cells are being made to help repair the torn skin. Damaged blood vessels are being fixed.

White blood cells, the kind that fight infection to keep you from getting sick, go to work by attacking any germs that may have gotten into the cut. White blood cells also get rid of any dead blood and skin cells that may still be hanging around the cut. By the time it's all done, a new layer of skin will have been made.

Eventually, a scab falls off and reveals new skin underneath. This usually happens by itself after a week or two. Even though it may be tough not to pick at a scab, try to leave it alone. If you pick or pull at the scab, you can undo the repair and rip your skin again, which means it'll probably take longer to heal. You may even get a scar. So let that scab sit there — your skin will thank you!

(www.kidshealth.org)

I don't particularly care for scabs. Really, they seem more annoying than useful. And how often do we go ahead and scratch that little scab off because it seems like the wound is healed up enough? Go ahead and just finish that last step of healing, speed up the process, get it over with. But really, what we're doing is reversing all the hard work that has been done. Hurting the healing process. Skipping over necessary steps to keep the wound from being completely, 100% healed. Maybe even causing a permanent mark, a scar that we could have avoided had we just been patient. Scabs are an eye sore. We know it won't stay forever, so we have to wait for it to fall off. Wait for the wound to be completely healed. Wait for the work to be done. We can't make our blood cells speed up or our skin regenerate faster. The body will work at its own pace whether or not we like it.

I have been on such a healing journey, one that is still in the works. Scabs are present. Ugly spots that are getting on my nerves. Crusty patches that I'd like to just go ahead and pick off because I feel like I'm healed enough in that area. I forget that the scab means the healing isn't finished. The scab, even if it is ugly and noticeable, is really just a protective little patch. A patch that is staying in place until all of the repair has been done. A patch that will eventually fall off to reveal new beauty. Repaired, fixed beauty. But I'm impatient. I'm ready for that shiney newness to be what others see, not the scab. I realize that by picking my scabs though, I'm reversing what has taken place. I'm undoing all the work that has been done and causing the healing process to slow down, take longer. And I know that I can't speed Him up. Whether or not I like it, He's going to heal me at the pace He desires. But He knows best. He is, after all, the Great Physician. And I realize that I won't get through this unscarred, but I also realize that if I wait, if I'm patient and let the healing complete every stage, the depth and the severity of the scar will be less. A scar that will tell a story but not a scar that will disfigure.

Scabs, the last step. Be patient and wait. Scabs mean the wound is healing as it should. Restoration and newness is to follow. And boy, am I ready to see that newly regenerated, shiney pinkness when these protective patches have done their job and the healing is, at last, complete.

#113 - Scabs...signs of healing.

"O Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly healed; if you save me, I will be truly saved. My praises are for you alone!" - Jeremiah 17:14