Kind of a weird title for a blog I know, but it is something that I have been thinking about lately. 

We had one of our CSC KIDS return for a visit last week.  He is now 19 years old; he left CSC when he was about 19 months old.  When we told his house parents and his caretakers that he was coming back to visit they all were excited to see him of course…no one is forgotten at CSC.  One of the first things they talked about was his birthmark; he had a birthmark on one of his legs below the knee.  They remembered him of course, but his birthmark was something that was special to him. 

When he arrived we were all excited to see him, we recognized his smile and could see that little baby face that we remembered in the face of the young man with a mustache before us.  We all glanced at his leg and did not see the birthmark we remembered so well…was this really our little guy?  Finally, someone could not hold it in any longer; they asked him where his birthmark was.  I wondered how he would handle that question; but he stood up, put his foot up on the chair, and pointed out a barely discernible scar right where we knew his birth mark should be.  He explained that he had his birthmark removed when he was young because he did not like that people always noticed it.  He thought it was wonderful that we remembered though, it brought a big smile to his face that we remembered something that was specific and individual to him.  It gave him something positive out of something that he thought was negative.  He almost seemed proud to show us the scar, he knew it was part of his identity, and the fact that we remembered proved to him that we DID remember him as an individual.  

This little event made me think  about  the” birthmark”  that many of us  have, one  that should be obvious for one and all to see.  Do we let people see the “birthmark” that we have from our second birth; our birth into God’s family?  This “birthmark” would be visible in our actions, our words, even our thoughts.  I wonder if some of us would like to hide it and remove it.  I wonder if some of us are embarrassed about it.  I am sure that I have thought of doing all those things at different points in my life.  Nevertheless, in the end, we know that this “birthmark” is the best thing we have ever been given.  We can be proud of it and we need to show it to the world.  I love birthmarks.