From hopeless position to higher purpose;
step inside the Matthew Maher story.
I have an ugly scar, but I have made the commitment not to hide it because of Jesus' example. He bears His scars even to the point of honoring the apostle Thomas, disbelieving response in His resurrection from the dead by exposing His gaping wounds as proof of Who He is. The obvious difference here is that my own sin caused my scar and Jesus' scars; but I am thankful that God has graciously allowed me to use my scar to show others what I have done, and where I have been, and hopefully to lead others to do better.
I'm gonna get straight to the point, man. I could not look you in the eyes four years ago today--nobody could. Not that I did not want to at the time, but it would have been hard to see the soul when the head was bowed so low in despair. The eyes reveal the soul. Then again, I did not need to see you directly to feel your shame, your rejection, and your grief. Any attempt at words exchanged would have fallen on deaf ears. I did not want to hear you, nor you me. But we must agree now! Can two walk together, unless they are in agreement? (Amos 3:3)
Matt Maher smiles a lot for someone in prison. Not all the time, of course. Andrea Maher's son breaks down in tears while describing how he took a man's life more than three years ago. Matt Maher, reeling from a major knee injury suffered while playing professional indoor soccer for the Philadelphia Kixx, had been drinking heavily at a bar in Manayunk, Pa. He then got behind the wheel to drive to Atlantic City with a friend shortly before 3 a.m. March 7, 2009...
I have been "down" for 39 months. "Down" is jail lingo for "incarcerated." Yet, I have remained "up" in mind, body, and spirit. "Up" is my term for "content." I am thankful for not having faltered in my daily desire to remain up and positive in spite of the dark circumstances that surround me...
You can't see them coming down from my eyes, so I have to make this column cry. In honor of my Mom's tears that have left a trail from what her eyes have seen, flowing down to where her heart has leaned. A faith blossomed by weeping waters, for all of us to follow her stream of example through our very own desert experiences. Please allow my tears to write my heart as each drop on the paper tells of a different smear; but as Jesus has wiped each one away from drop to drop, these smears have been the mark that clears and eventually heals. She has cried her fair share, but none more telling than the ones that have been squeezed out of her by her sons...
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