Scuffed Fingertips

The other day I was sitting in a spot that allowed me to see the shoes of the person next to me.  I mean really see the shoes.  No, I wasn't sitting on the floor, but I could have.  The floor is comfortable and I haven't yet fallen off of it.  I digress.

I was looking at my friend's shoes and I noticed the toes were scuffed and it made me smile.  Not because it lessened the value of the shoe.. personally I don't think it did.. but because it increased the value of the man.

It showed me that he wasn't afraid to work hard.  He wasn't ashamed of the evidence of his work or the fact that it left scars.  He wasn't perfect and he was OK with it.

It's like my fingertips.  They aren't scuffed by definition, but they are no longer in the same condition they were when I first got them.  They have evidence of work and wear.  They are scarred.  They are valuable.

With a scuffed pair of shoes you can polish and buff them and make them shine again, but there will always be evidence of wear.  I can do the same with my fingertips.  I can soak them and buff them and lessen the calluses, but there will always be evidence of wear.

And I am OK with that.