Story Time

Brokenness

Holding my paper cup of chamomile tea with honey, surrounded by a table full of fellow travelers,  on the journey…

The question arises, “What is a humble person like?”

So this made me a bit enthused, since a similar line of thought had already been churning through my mind for quite some time.

Visualize with me; let’s say your new favorite pottery mug that you received as a birthday gift is sitting on the counter fresh out of the dishwasher. Moments later some human comes hurrying by and carelessly swipes it onto the floor and of course you know what follows, a resounding crash that shatters your heart. You close your eyes and refuse to view the ruins. From the sound of things it’s in smithereens, beyond any help or repair. And it was your gift! Your prized possession!

Life is temporary, and oh so fragile. One minute someone is living and the next they can be gone. One day you can be strong and holding it together and next something horrible happens and your life is a broken mess. And where is the beauty in this? It’s messy, raw, and painful. There’s nothing to admire about it. You’re vulnerable and want to hide. You cringe to think that anyone would see you like this.

Back to the mug, you finally have the courage to survey the scene. You have calmed down enough not to tear into that person who caused this. Slowly you crouch down and pick up the pieces. To your surprise, there’s only a few. It’s a lot less dramatic then your mind played it out. It actually doesn’t look so bad. Perhaps it is fixable.

There’s this ancient Japanese tradition called kintsugi that you should look up. They use gold to bond the cracks together and the item is lovelier than before. This could be the case for your precious mug. It may be even more special once it’s fixed since it now will have a story to tell.

God wants to do this for us. He is waiting to mend our brokenness with the gold of his love and grace. He wants us to willingly tell our stories and share with other hurting humans what He has done in our lives. When we get to a place of being so completely broken and helpless, that is when God can work with us. He can put us back together in His own perfect way and make us greater vessel fit for His kingdom. And we feel so humbled and ashamed about the lowly place we’ve come to, but little do we know how beautiful our lives look to others after God restores us. He picks us up and lovingly buffs out the shame. When our hearts are filled with gratitude for His rescue and love for His gentle power then we can truly be a humble people.

Because it’s not about ourselves or what we have done. We know without a question or a doubt, we would not be here if it weren’t for his tremendous grace. It’s only through His loving mercy that we are saved and self is crucified. May we ever strive to keep placing the honor into the hands of our compassionate Creator and Savior, and never take the glory for ourselves.

Because who doesn’t love a quiet, humble person? Don’t you agree they are beautiful to be around? Aren’t they the ones who quietly serve and listen to others? Aren’t they the ones who pick up the fallen and encourage them to look to Jesus?

Then when we stand at the judgement bar one day, He can say “Well done thou faithful ‘humble’ servant of Mine, who embraced thy brokenness and gave thy life in service to Me.”

“Brokenness is beautiful- it speaks of a humble heart, surrendered to its Maker.”

Til’ next time my fellow travelers              XX