I have this badge of honor, I wear it on my chest,

I notice it most frequently on days that are not my best.

It doesn’t shine and it is not seen by anyone but me.

Sometimes I’ll show it off a little but I hold it very dearly.

This badge is for all the hurts I’ve felt,

and the unfair cards that I’ve been dealt,

The wrong things that were said or done,

and every moment from which I have wanted to run.

What I didn’t know about this badge is that it doesn’t belong on me

My trials, although real, do not define who I can be.

They may have shaped who I have become,

But their power over me is done.

I decided recently to let my dear badge go

To stop the anger and bitterness that from it flow.

I still have the memories and the lessons my trials gave,

But this badge of honor haunts me, it’s not something I want to save.

It turns out this badge was never good, it never served me well,

It left me with hard emotions that frequently from it fell.

How do you get rid of something, that does not burn or shred?

You give it to the Savior, “I’ll take care of it” he said.

Sometimes the devil will find me and say,

“Here’s your Badge of Honor, Why did you throw it away?

Don’t leave it behind or say goodbye, without it you don’t know who you are.

Don’t you remember what happened to you to leave that little scar?

It’s comforting, it feels familiar and you relate to it so well.”

The words are tempting, Satan know how to make a great sale.

What do I do with this awful badge that so nicely seems to fit?

He’s convincing, but that badge never brought anything good with it.

I’ll tell you what I am without it

I am happy, forgiving, content, and free.

Then the Savior comes to me and says again, “I’ll take that for you, you can give it to me.”