BROKEN

A simple text from a sweet friend inspired these thoughts this week.

You see, this friend, like me, is in her happy place when she is at the ocean.  She was texting me from the beach as she and her family was blessed with an unexpected trip to a beach for a few days! I was so happy for this opportunity that came up for them.

 

Photo courtesy of Laura Sage

 

The text said,

“I was thinking of you while walking because there are a lot of broken shells on the beach and I remember telling you once how people are kind of like those broken shells.  Broken but still beautiful!”

The other thought she shared at that time was that

“And the cool thing about these broken shells is that they’ve all had an amazing journey!”

 

 

Her sharing those words again did indeed remind me of her saying that to me before.  I said that she should pen some thoughts on it and she told me that I should!  I was thinking more about it and did think it worthy to pen some thoughts about “broken but still beautiful.”

Much to my surprise the next morning I received a text from her with some penned thoughts!  🙂  I just skimmed it quick so I could at least respond, not wanting to read her thoughts in depth until I penned what was in my heart about that phrase.  It is cool that she really did write down what she was feeling about her experience!  She might have a gift of writing that she never thought about before!  😉

 

 

 

So, yes,  isn’t there great truth in these thoughts….

 

 

Let’s zero in on this phrase…..

 

 

On the seashore one can often find more broken shells than whole shells, right?   We know it is because the journey the shells go through.  Consider a small seashell in such massive ocean waters.  The shell is on a continual, minute by minute, day by day journey floating, around being tossed and turned, possibly crashing against some boulders along the seashore.  Parts of the seashell get left in different parts of the world even!  They all make it somewhere, somehow!

What a treasure it is to find a shell that is still pretty much intact, usually minus the living organism that originated in the shell!

 

Photo courtesy of Laura Sage

 

As my friend stated, “People are kind of like those broken shells.  The broken shells have had an amazing journey.”

 

Our lives could represent those seashells.  We are on an amazing journey that starts when we are born on this earth.

Aren’t we just one person in the big ocean of life surrounded by so many people and things?

Aren’t we on a continual journey, an amazing journey, minute by minute, day by day?

Throughout our life don’t we get tossed around sometimes even crashing into the big boulders, big issues in life that might try to break us?

Don’t we eventually make it to our ending point?

 

++++++++++++

 

While reflecting on thoughts of “broken” I couldn’t help but think of the one person who experienced ultimate brokenness in this world.

Someone whose body and spirit was broken; broken so that we might have everlasting life with God!

 

Photo courtesy of MTSOfan under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

 

Yes, what an amazing journey Jesus had on this earth doing His Father’s will.  It was not always easy, people mocked Him, made fun of Him, and some wouldn’t even listen to Him.

Yes, Jesus willingly suffered extreme brokenness when He endured His brutual death, death on a cross after being beaten.

Jesus enduring the brokenness He did is the perfect example of how we can be broken but still beautiful!!

Yes, Jesus qualifies as the most beautiful person who graced this earth!

 

Photo courtesy of Laura Sage

 

 

Through all the brokenness, you know what we should remember?

—That it is okay to be broken for a time

—That we are all broken

—That our brokenness may lead us to Christ

—That brokenness will eventually end

—That God is still with us in our brokenness

—That God can mend our brokenness

—That our brokenness might help someone else on their journey

—That we can still reflect Jesus in our daily life

—That we can still trust God to get us through

—That our brokenness should be shared with others

—That we are still beautiful!

 

 

I recall seeing recently an article that mentioned that in Japanese culture they often repair broken pottery by filling it with gold.  Their belief is that the pottery is even more beautiful and valuable because it has been broken and filled with gold.

What a great parallel for living our lives~~keeping forefront in our mind that our brokenness has made us even more beautiful too; we can become better and even stronger than we were before!

 

After penning these thoughts, I read my friends thoughts which were beautiful!  I will share you this quote that she ended her thoughts with which is a perfect reminder…..

“God can use our broken pieces to make us beautiful too if we let Him.  Give Him the pieces…..”

 

As a visual reminder for her and her son, they collected these broken shells and sand to put on their mantle.  I think the figures next to the visual could represent God holding us as we give our broken pieces to Him….What JOY can be ours when we surrender the broken pieces of our lives to Him~He makes us even more beautiful!

 

Photo courtesy of Laura Sage

 

 

“Broken things can become blessed things if you let God do the mending.”

 

Photo credit @humblee74

 

Once again, with God’s perfect timing, I heard this song at church today that I immediately felt fit perfectly with these thoughts.  Take a listen and be blessed~

 

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.  –Psalm 147:3  (NIV)

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  –Ecclesiastes 3:11  (NIV)