You Have to Embrace the Wounds of Your Past

Use them to move on towards a brighter future

We all bear scars that signify unpleasant moments of our past. Some are visible, while others, not so much. When we first got them, we were shocked and sent through significant pain. Every day after, we hid them because we were ashamed of the truth.

It could be months or even years after the scars first formed, and we’re still hiding them. Whether self-inflicted or caused by another, it’s time to embrace these painful memories.

Father Greg Boyle is a Jesuit Priest and the founder of Homeboy Industries, an organization that rehabilitates former gang members in Los Angeles and employs them in various capacities. His business has been so successful that it opened up public speaking events for Boyle and his “homies” (his nickname for his rehabilitated gang members) all over the country. These homies come from the worst backgrounds to tell stories of triumph that inspire younger audience members enduring similar hardships to find a different path than crime and gangs.

In one powerful speech, Boyle puts one of his homies, Jose, center-stage to tell his story. Born unwanted to a single mother, Jose was told that he should kill himself at six years old. At nine, his mom dropped him off at an orphanage. For most of his childhood, his mom beat him and left significant scars all over his body. Jose strategically covered them up so nobody else would know what he went through. He wore three shirts: one to cover up the bleeding wounds, a second for when the first shirt got too bloody, and the third shirt successfully kept all of the scars and blood completely covered.

For years, Jose was bullied for wearing three shirts. He didn’t want to tell the truth about his mom, so he shut down. Whether at home or in school, Jose could never escape pain, and it snowballed into a life of crime and drugs.

Jose wore three shirts into his adult life. Ten months into his rehabilitation, he had a powerful revelation. He spent some time trying to help…

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