A Mark of Grace
By: Amy Griffin
Inspired by the story of Leah Helen Bosshard
There once was a girl, and Catie was her name,
If you look in the mirror, you’ll find that the two of you are quite the same.
You see, Catie was like any other little girl,
She jumped, laughed and played and put on dresses that twirl.
There was only one little thing about Catie that stood out,
She had a scar on her cheek, which she always wondered about.
If she didn’t look in the mirror, Catie would forget it was there,
But wherever she went, people often would stare.
Catie’s scar was about as long as a needle,
And it zigzagged about like a lost little beetle.
Some of the kids poked fun and called Catie mean names,
Catie just cried and tried to hide her face, in shame.
One day at breakfast, Catie’s mom noticed something rather peculiar,
Catie was wearing a scarf up to her ears, in the middle of summer!
“Catie,” her mom called, “what is this outfit all about?”
And Catie remarked, “I just want to cover up my scar before I go out.”
Tenderly, Catie’s mom pulled up a chair next to hers,
And said, “Listen closely. I have a story to share.”
“Before you were born, we had one special son,
But your dad and I dreamed someday we would welcome a second little one.
After a long time of praying and patiently waiting,
We got the good news that you would be in arms, just as we had been praying.
But all of our hopes seemed to come to a halt,
When the doctors told us there might be something wrong with your face and your heart.”
“Your dad and I cried so hard at the thought
That you might not be with us, as we had hoped in our hearts.
So we prayed to God every moment of each day and each night,
That God would hold you in His hands and help you to survive.
Then, all around the world, something amazing took place,
Those who heard about your struggle got on their knees and they prayed.
People who know you now, and even those whom you have never seen,
Got down before God and begged Him to intervene.”
“Well, a miracle happened on the day you arrived,
God held you before me, but He said, ‘be patient…it is still not your time.’
It was the doctors’ turn to help heal your tiny wounds,
So again I prayed for God to carry you snuggly as He had in my womb.
Finally, the day we had waited for, after so many months had come,
God handed you over to your dad and I, and said, ‘for now I am done’.”
“What did God have to do, I wondered, that caused me so much waiting and pain?
But, now I see clearly, that all of our suffering was not in vain.
You see, God used your little life to accomplish so many BIG things,
He taught us how to have faith, how to trust in His timing, amid our sufferings.
He taught us to pray for what He has planned for our lives,
Rather than following our own agenda and worldly desires.
He taught us that all things are possible when we put our trust in Him,
And He taught us true beauty comes from our soul, deep from within.”
“Catie, you are God’s miracle, so don’t be ashamed of your scar,
It is there, where God held you, so tight in his arms.
It is there where he kissed you, when you were afraid and alone,
It is there where he caressed you, and called you His own.
Your scar tells a story full of such beauty and grace,
That God cared for you so much to leave His mark on your face.”
Catie hopped down from the chair and threw off her scarf,
She walked straight to the mirror to examine her scar.
“Mom,” Catie asked, as she traced the mark from her cheek to her chin,
“Why didn’t God give you a scar on your face or your skin?”
Bending down on her knees Catie’s mom gave her a big hug,
And said, “God left a scar on my heart, marked by His love.”
1 Samuel 1:27
