My broken friend,
At this moment, you may be asking yourself, “How does she know that I am broken?”
You are broken.
I am broken.
But our brokenness does not define us.
Let me be maybe the first, hopefully the hundredth, to tell you that despite what you may believe, you are infinitely and unbelievably loved.
Your blessedness far outweighs your brokenness.
Look at a sunset. Or a sunrise. The sky changes from blue to various shades of pink, yellow, and orange. Each rising or setting of the giant ball of light in the sky invokes a breathtaking reaction in those that encounter it. Each journey to and from the center of the sky is unique, and no two sunsets are ever the same.
I was walking down a secluded path along the coast recently, and the sun was just getting ready to go to sleep for the night. Each time the horizon parted to share a glimpse of the action, I was met with awe. Every moment was more beautiful than the last, and from where I was standing, I was sure that I was staring at the most beautiful thing on earth.
At one point, the vivid, cinematic, clip of creation seemed to be reaching climax when I could no longer contain my amazement at the sight that lay before me. I froze mid step and literally squealed with joy. I was staring at love. There was no doubt about it.
My dear friends, creation is a sign of love.
Your existence in itself is a sign of love.
And, if I may, I would love to share something with you that is sadly unknown by most. You are more beautiful than the most beautiful sunrise.
You are broken, but as Henri Nouwen reveals in his book Life of the Beloved, “our brokenness reveals something about who we are.”
Just as your brokenness is unique, your blessedness is unique.
The way that you are loved is intentionally different than the way I am loved.
I would like to break this down for you a little more because it is so important to me that you know how wonderful and special you are.
In high school, my friends and I spread out a sheet on the floor and each of us picked up a beautiful ceramic plate, and hurled it to the ground where it broke and shattered into a hundred pieces. Once all of the plates had been broken, we stared down at the apparent mess.
A huge wooden cross was wheeled out.
We picked up the broken pieces and carefully glued them onto the cross. The plain wooden cross was transformed into a mosaicked piece of art thanks to the brokenness of a few dozen plates.
The plate fragments represented our individual brokenness and the cross mosaic was a symbol of the beauty that can be found amidst our struggle. Without brokenness, that cross would never have been created.
See, every plate was authentically broken and every fragment authentically beautiful.
The cross could not have been transformed into the same beautiful piece of art without the brokenness of every single plate fragment.
In the case of the broken plates, their seeming broken mess was used for a greater good.
Your brokenness too can be seen as beauty when viewed in the light of blessing.
What you do with that brokenness, however, is ultimately up to you.
You can choose to fall under its curse or you can allow it to bring you joy.
You can let it leave you as a mess on the floor like the broken plate fragments or you can turn it into something beautiful like the mosaicked cross.
Beauty and blessedness is right there amidst your brokenness.
Dissecting the broken parts of your soul to see the beauty, is the hard part.
I want to challenge you, my beloved friends, take a deep look at your soul.
Gaze at your brokenness. Don’t compare it to anyone else’s brokenness. Accept it as your own unique brokenness and come to view it as a blessing.
I wish I could tell you that this is an easy process, but alas, it is not. Soul searching can be painful, but I can promise you that the realization of blessing that comes from it is worth every hurt.
Accept your brokenness as your own, but do not let it define you as broken. Allow it to define you as blessed.
Sit and listen to the voice of blessing calling you loved, calling you worthy. Listen to that voice until you can fully accept it.
That voice, belongs to God and it is calling out to you even when you are unaware.
He loves your brokenness and wants you to see it as a blessing.
Do you remember the sunrise I was telling you about?
The most picturesque sunrise and jaw-dropping sunset is painted in great detail for the subject of God’s affection…you and I.
He kisses us good night with the setting and bids us awake for a new day with the rising. Each one is a love note for us to open and enjoy. Not a night goes by when the sun does not set and not a day begins when it refuses to rise, and so God never forgets to say “good night” or “good morning.”
It is my prayer that as you carry on through life, you may notice all of the ways your beloved Father is vying for your heart.
Remember your authentic blessedness.
Let God love you.
Love,
Your broken friend
