Dear Precious Friends,
On this Thankful Thursday as we begin a new day thanking God for His gift of a new day, I am reminded during this time of uncertainty and difficulty, that God has each one of us here for such a time as this. He knows all things and most of all He knows our world needs a Savior and we are here to share our Lord with a broken world. We are still here because He has a purpose for us and He has work for us to do!!!
I am especially reminded today of how God breaks through our brokenness and restores us, mostly because we have a new story... one of beauty from ashes. How does He do this?
We live in a broken world... Sometimes we feel broken. Like the image of a broken glass... we can feel Shattered. Set on a shelf. Tossed aside. Or thrown away. It takes too much work to try to restore. “Just get a new one,” the mindset of our culture whispers our way. “Don’t let anyone see the broken flaws.” Such reality in the way we often live in this world.
We may have broken dreams, broken lives, broken relationships, broken family members...
Have you seen or heard of Kintsugi in Japan where they’ve made an art out of restoring broken things. Its is an age-old custom of repairing cracked pottery with real gold, not only fixing the break, but greatly increasing the value of the piece.
The heart of it all - turning what is broken into beautiful, cherished pieces, by sealing the cracks and crevices with lines of fine gold. Instead of hiding the flaws, Kintsugi artists highlight the flaws bringing unique beauty to the original piece. The pottery actually becomes more beautiful and valuable in the restoration process because, though it was once broken, it not only has history, but a new story.
Yet the art of Kintsugi reinforces a profound belief that the repair can make things not only as good as they were before, but “better than new.”
Better than new. Soak that in for a moment.
WOW WOW WOW!! As always when we walk with Jesus... there is great hope!!!
There are lies out there that swirl around and whisper to our deepest soul in weak moments, when we've lost our grip, and things come crashing down. We often feel the need to hide the scars. We feel like the brokenness has rendered us useless in life. We feel beyond repair this time. We feel tossed aside. Forgotten. Shamed. Rejected.
Yet God breaks through all that mess. We are never beyond healing. We are never too broken for restoration. We are never too shattered for repair. We don't need to be ashamed of our scars, of the deep crevices that line our soul, or the broken places of our life. They have an amazing story to tell.
Brokenness has the power, unlike anything else, to bring forth new beauty, strength, and inspiration to others. Because it’s often in those moments that we’ve tasted deep suffering, that we noticed, we were made for more. There’s more. There’s purpose.
The scars of life, the healed wounds, the deep lines, they all have stories to tell. Yet often we try to hide them away, preferring instead to present to the world, a safe façade of who we are, a more “perfect” version. It’s too difficult to risk the real vulnerability of exposing what once was. Or what still is.
We have a Healer. One who repairs. Who can fit the broken pieces that no longer seem to fit right into a perfect design. He works, often behind the scenes, mending, fitting together, creating a better work of art, more than we ever dreamed possible. He makes all things beautiful. Especially in the broken. All from His grace. It is real life. Jagged edges and all. They have such meaning.
We are not just simply patched back together, as He secretly hopes the glue will stick this time. Your repair and healing is never intended to be invisible. But beautifully lined with shining grace through every scar and broken space. Gold filled crevices of our heart, now stronger, better, more beautiful than before.
And that is what His story is really all about. Bringing life to what was broken. He was willing to take on the brokenness of the world in exchange for our freedom.
Beautiful Savior.
Jesus.
Who sets us free.
He makes all things new.
“Behold, I am making all things new.” Rev. 21:5
“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
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Is. 43:19
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Ps.147:3
WHAT HOPE WE HAVE IN A BROKEN WORLD THROUGH OUR LORD AND SAVIOR... He makes beauty from our ashes. LET'S SHARE THIS GREAT TRUTH WITH ALL WE COME IN CONTACT WITH.
AMEN!!!
