By Molly Jebber
I had two blood red spots removed from my face. The doctor warned they may turn black and blue in a few hours, but they would disappear in a day or two. After they were removed, my face was warm and red. I went shopping for a gift. Of course, I had to stop by the shoes, dresses, and other fun things before buying the gift. An hour had passed. Two women whispered and pointed at me, and the cashier couldn’t look me in the eye. I’ve never been waited on so fast! On my way out the store, people gasped, stared, and avoided eye contact. I ran to my car, peeked in the mirror, and was horrified. I looked as if I’d been beaten. 
I can’t imagine what people with permanent scars must go through from strangers. This experience helped me write Grace’s Forgiveness. It was then I gave Grace a birthmark on her cheek in the second book in my Keepsake Pocket Quilt series. I show her responses to the treatment she receives from strangers, and the reasons her friends love her so much. How one man looks beyond her scar and falls in love with her compassion, kindness, strength, and accepts her flaws. Grace and Daniel struggle together to overcome their obstacles and seek God’s will for their lives praying for a miracle so they may have their happy ever after.
Writing Grace’s Forgiveness reminded me to not turn away from a stranger’s scar and to smile and behold the beauty God sees.
My favorite verse. Isaiah 41:10 – “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
1 Samuel 16:7(b) “for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”
Molly Jebber’s Keepsake Pocket Quilt series, Change of Heart, Grace’s Forgiveness, The Amish Christmas Sleigh are available in print/ebook wherever books are sold in the US and UK. Her books have appeared on Publisher’s Weekly January, 2015 best ten list, Romantic Times, USAToday HEA and many others. She’s a speaker for Women’s Christian Connection, teaches classes on writing and marketing, and gives author presentations. Visit www.mollyjebber.com for her upcoming new releases.
Comments 0
Thank you for sharing your personal story. So glad God looks at our heart and as individuals we should look at the true inner beauty of others and not their outward appearance. God bless.
What a significant theme. I once saw a three-year-old who was ugly. I wouldn’t have thought it was possible for a three-year-old to be ugly, but she was. She was singled out for abuse by other three-year-olds. When I saw her father, I realized that she had inherited his sharp-boned face. That was more than forty years ago. I have often wondered what that poor child endured through the years and what it did to her. I hope God met her in special ways.