Author Camey Joy on How 'Our Brokenness Can Lead to Beauty'

Photo image courtesy CameyJoy.com
Scars … we all have them. Some are external while others are buried so deeply in our soul that we lose sight of who we are at times. But there is hope. Our scars can literally transform us through the life we lead and what we learn from it.

Author Camey Joy knows this all too well. Born in the mountains of Guatemala with a cleft lip that has required 23 different surgeries in her lifetime, this married mother of three, has suffered through pain, rejection, and ultimately redemption. She sees her scars as a reminder of God’s grace and forgiveness.

In her latest book, Beautifully Scarred, Camey guides her readers through the painful reality of our physical and emotional defects to show that Jesus still heals and works miracles today.

I recently sat down with Camey to discuss how writing her story changed her outlook on her scars as well as those of others, what true healing looks like, and how to best forge a path to a brighter future.

If you were trying to convince a friend to take the time to read Beautifully Scarred what would you say to encourage them?

It started for me in the mountains of Guatemala where I was born with a bilateral cleft lip and cleft palate. That is where you're born without a lip and in the roof of your mouth you have a hole. I should have died in Guatemala, but that's where my story started. But that's not how my story ended. In Beautifully Scarred, I take the reader on a journey with me from the mountains of Guatemala to survival, to overcoming hardship, to adoption and to redemption. And basically, along this journey, I learned that we all have scars, both seen and unseen, and how beautiful they can be when we place them in the hands of Jesus.

How has writing your story changed how you see your scars, both physical scars and emotional ones?

Healing looks like different things to different people, but for me, I went back in my life and went back to those moments that were open wounds. But whenever I went back, I was able to take Jesus with me. And it was there that I learned that His scars have the ability to heal mine. And it wasn't about erasing my scars, but it was the moment that I realized that when you have a scar, it indicates that healing took place. And I went from asking God, why me, to Lord use me.

Healing is such a major theme in Beautifully Scarred. What does true healing look like to you now?

Every scar tells a story of where we've been, but not necessarily where we are going. And for me, those open wounds, true healing for me was not about erasing my scars but basically learning that my scars can point to His scars. And that rather than asking God, why me? Just say, hey, God, use me. And to give myself grace. Whenever I was going through these hard moments and difficult times, I made sure to be gentle with myself and for others that have wounds. In the moment, give yourself grace.

You’ve been transparent about struggling with self-image and shame growing up. What changed the way you saw yourself? Was there one particular moment or instance where everything changed for you?

I really had a lot of self-confidence until about the age of seven. My parents spoke life into me and over me. And I didn't know that I was anything different. But it was about the age of seven that I started realizing, oh, I look different than my adopted family. Oh, I speak differently. Oh, people are staring at me. But it was a moment that the doctors started speaking life into me and over me. They all said, “Camey, you are uniquely created, and your story needs to be shared.” And it was then that God began to shift the focus off of myself, and I began to look at who He is and who He actually created me to be.

How do you hope your story encourages people who feel like their past disqualifies them from being used by God?

If anybody hears anything that I say, I really hope that people are encouraged that your past does not disqualify you. My prayer is that God will allow you to see that your scars are beautiful and that your scars can be used to point to His scars. It's not about being perfect or having perfection, but it's about surrendering your heart and your life to the Lord and partnering with Him and allowing Him to use you.

After people have had a chance to read Beautifully Scarred, what would you like your readers to take away from that experience? What is your greatest hope for the book?

Part of the reason for my book is that I saw it being played out as a movie. And I would love for it one day to become a movie. But I also wrote at the end of my book about there being stadiums full of people worshiping the Lord. And so, that would be my prayer, that people will be encouraged, that they will have hope, and realize that they are valued. Brokenness can actually lead to beauty.

I realize this book is just coming out, but you talking about movies and speaking begs me to ask the question, are you working on anything new right now that you could share about?

On my website CameyJoy.com, I have a YouVersion devotional, which is a nice five day companion to my memoir. It basically connects scriptures and helps the reader reflect on their own story where they can find beauty from pain, courage, and feel healing from brokenness. This is because the truth and reality is we all have a story. We all have scars.

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