Arai is a survivor from the Hiroshima tragedy. She was a school teacher and had sent her children out to play.
While she was inside and they were out, the bomb hit. At the time, she was looking at a white sheet of rice paper that the children had made and brushed her name across in calligraphy.
When she looked outside, all the children were gone, only rags remained.
The black Japanese characters had absorbed the light and burned away. Only the white paper, which had reflected it, remained intact. The white paper had saved her from blindness but her name was now stenciled across her face.
She was told that she could have plastic surgery to help erase the scars. But she chose to leave them there as a memorial to the dead children.
I read this in the Adventist Review dated September 9, 2010.
What a story!
Christ also has scars on His head and hands that will forever be with Him. And He chooses to keep them there — just as He chose to come to this earth to save us from ourselves.
The Last Train from Hiroshima: The Survivors Look Back (John MacRae Books)