Scars...why must we be reminded of our pain?

Looking at my right quad I can see a faint oval shape about 4 inches long.  I can barely see it now, but it's a reminder of a painful event in my childhood.  When I was young, my dad had a motorcycle, I can't remember what kind, but I can remember the loud sound of the motor and him rolling in from work.  He'd pick me up and put me on it and I'm sure I was thinking I was driving it!  One day, however, I went into the garage after my dad came into the house.  I saw the bike in all it's shining glory.  I had to get on it.  I walked over to it, and though I don't remember how I tried to get on or how I fell, I do remember the intense pain.  I remember screaming in the doctor's office.  I remember seeing blisters on my leg and holding a wet rag over it.  Every time I see that scar I remember the pain as my leg hit that muffler and the long healing process afterward. 

The scars of our lives give us an opportunity to glance back.  They are reminders of things that once were.  Of who we once were.  Of times that we hated, but times that we made it through.  That God brought us through.  They give us a chance to remember the pain we went through.  A chance to remember the healing and a chance to remember why we don't want to go through it again.  However, I sometimes struggle to look at my scars in a healthy way.  I don't want to be reminded of them.  I don't want to ever see them again.  I regret having them.  Why do I need to go back and look at them?  Those times were difficult, can't I just keep looking forward?  Do I need to see it again?  Do I need to be reminded?  These are constant questions when I'm led to look back.

I've begun to realize, however, that God doesn't bring us back to painful memories to just frustrate us.  He never wants us to have to go there again and he definitely doesn't want us to dwell there.  He brings us back so that we can see how we've gone forward.  God does heal, but sometimes we forget about how far He has brought us.  We forget how far down the path we had gone, the painful outcomes, and the healing done.  We need to be reminded.  As our life continues and our scars fade we can forget about where we were.  It's times like these that we need to look at our scars and the pain that 'caused them and remember that God is the reason we are where we are.