Broken Pieces

The hardest part of life after divorce has been seeing beauty in my broken pieces. I've taken a lot of time to work on myself the last couple of years and God has also done work in me. While I have made great strides sometimes the residual pain becomes bigger than everything I know to be true. I fear the broken parts of me will make me unlovable.

I feel like a broken coffee mug that has been super glued, patched up sitting in the back of a cupboard. Not good enough to be used but too meaningful to be tossed away. Coincidentally, my son broke a toy this morning and as he cried about it I said " let mommy glue it for you and I bet you it will be good as new. If not better." he cried "but it won't work the same and people will know it's broken. My reply to him was " AJ, it's broken but it still works and you can still play with it. Besides, when your friends ask what happened, you will have a cool story to tell them." At that moment God spoke the same over me.

You may be broken but you are still whole.

You may be broken but you are still loved and valuable. Valuable to me and valuable to my kingdom.

You may be broken but I am still able to use you and your story for my Glory.

I did a quick search for what the Bible says about broken pieces and I came across an article about a form of Japanese art called Kintsugi. Kintsugi is a custom in which pottery is repaired with real gold. The philosophy behind Kintsugi is to not only repair the broken pieces of an object but to expose its history. What I found so fascinating about Kintsugi is that instead of hiding the flaws of these broken pieces they highlight them. Bringing forth its beauty and increasing the value and worth.

Much like God, when He mends our brokenness, He does it in a way where beauty is brought forth. Our strength is revealed and inspiration is given to others. Society tells us that we have to hide our imperfections. Brokenness is viewed as damaged goods and pain equals weakness. We become silent in our pain and numb to our emotions all at the expense of looking less than perfect. We allow the enemy to let us believe that we are beyond repair, unlovable, and invaluable.

God says "Behold, I am making all things new." Rev. 21:5

When God restores, He does it with the intent to draw attention to our beauty and strength. His work is never meant to be invisible but rather to highlight our story. When He mends the pieces His grace and glory are left all over it. Our healer, the one who repairs and restores is the only one who can create a better work of art within us. He can mend us and make us better than new. Everything that God does is with a design. He is not only a Healer but a master craftsman. An expert Potter, dusting us off and filling in the broken pieces with Gold. He admires the beauty of our scars and breathes life into those broken places. When He's finished I picture Him taking a step back and admiring us with so much pride. He doesn't hide us away in the back of a cupboard or toss us in an unwanted bin packed away in the attic. He puts us on display in his storefront window for all to admire our beauty as they walk past.

I know the deep suffering that comes with betrayal, the unworthiness that follows when you've been mishandled, the sting that penetrates the depths of your soul when rejected. Sometimes, I hate that my scars have to be part of my story. The enemy tells me my broken pieces will make me unlovable to all I encounter but God is telling me I need to love those parts of me first. He needs me to find the beauty in my brokenness and embrace it. Wear my scars with pride! When I do his glory will shine through for all to see.

God came to give us abundant life. To mend the broken pieces of us and breathe life into those places. He came willing to take on our brokenness in exchange for our happiness and freedom. He is telling me and now I am telling you! Embrace the broken pieces and let God restore those places, making them and you better than new. When you allow him to do so you'll have a cool story to tell all your friends. You'll be able to tell them how man broke you but God restored you. Honestly, you'll share your story but they'll already be able to tell that God's hand was all over you because his residue will be left behind. You won't look like what you have been through. God makes all things new.

I want to leave you with three bibles verses to hold on to in times of brokenness. I want to also remind you that God redeems and when he does he does it better than new. You are loveable, valuable, worthy, God's masterpiece. Embrace your scars and the beauty of the story they tell.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time." Ecc. 3:11

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Ps.147:3

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”2 Cor. 5:17