“Going through the motions doesn’t please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship
when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.” ~ Psalm 51:17
In the middle of our round table there is a lazy Susan. One time, my son decided to give it a quick, strong spin. There were a few items on it, namely a ceramic salt and pepper shaker. Enter mom as the fragments lay scattered on the floor. My son said he thought it could be glued back together and demonstrated how. I said it might not be worth it since you’d always see the cracks. Insistent, he began salvaging the broken pieces.
Ever felt like that broken pepper shaker? Like things were spinning out-of-control, falling apart, and you could no longer hold them all together? Brokenhearted, all that you thought were the makings of your life lay in pieces, and you stare stunned at the shattered fragments.
Though painful, brokenness is a blessing. You see, when we are broken we need fixing. All the while we’re working like a perfectly useful pepper shaker ready to spice up a gastronomic delight, we run the risk of functioning independently. We might be useful, but we may also be a little too self-ruling, or, in other words, too spicy for our own good.
Conversely, when we’re broken, we have come to the end of self. We’ve tried to hold it together and realize it’s impossible. Staring at the pieces, and failing to see a way to put it back together, the tears come freely. We’ve only enough strength to choke out a cry for help.
And the Helper comes.
Like my son with the pepper shaker, God sees something worth saving. Carefully picking up the broken pieces, He places the bits before Him. He assures us everything will be okay but asks that we trust Him. Then, He begins to painstakingly glue the pieces back together, slowly, meticulously, lovingly; only He leaves out some pieces.
When He’s finished there are cracks and even some holes. We think it looks messy and incomplete. He thinks it’s well on it’s way to beauty. He explains that the cracks are the lines that trace where we have been and form a story of our life. The missing parts are the unnecessary bits, and form gaps for others to see into a formerly closed vessel. As they gaze, they see the life of a now transparent person and begin to understand the miraculous work administered to one remade by their Maker.
Don’t be afraid if you are broken just now. Let yourself be miraculously and lovingly put back together by the Father. It takes trusting the only One who can perform such a delicate task. It may be uncomfortable—even painful—and you may question the final product. But the Lord is over-experienced and knows just how to fit everything together and leave out the excess. There will be beauty again.
I bless you in the midst of your brokenness that you would surrender to being remade.
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- Brokenness offers an opportunity for God’s deeper work in your life. Perhaps in it God is offering to heal something within you, or maybe taking you further in your faith journey with Him, or possibly both.
- Ask for His help to trust Him in the process.