Sometimes I see broken things.

–My sink is broken.  It leaks.

–My garage door is broken.  Or rather it works when it wants to.

–My daughter’s head is broken.

–My husband’s body is broken.

Sometimes I feel broken.

–I am lonely.

–I am disqualified.

–I am heart broken.

–I am angry.

–I am overwhelmed.

But in the middle of broken…

God writes a new story.  He takes the broken things, the broken lives, and he makes something beautiful.

Today, I have been angry.  I have been heart broken.  I have been overwhelmed.  I think some bad words even escaped my lips!  Yep…definitely not perfect here!  I was not alone in those feelings.  I had others right there with me!

But then I saw something beautiful.

In the middle of broken, I saw someone give even more of themselves.  The broken became beautiful.  The broken had every reason to be broken.  The broken had every reason to be angry.  The broken had every reason to feel overwhelmed. But then what happened…the broken gave even more.

Why have I spent years thinking that being broken was a bad thing?  Why do I want to run away from pain?  Why do I want others to think I am perfect (well, nearly perfect)?  Why am I afraid to say my life is not put together?  Why does society say if you’re broken you’re weak and disqualified?

When I’m broken

–I love more.

–I receive more.

–I seek God more.

And

When I am broken I can even give more!  I saw that happen today.  I saw someone give even more of their self when they had every right to be angry and overwhelmed.  I saw that happen yesterday.  I saw someone in their brokenness wanting to give.

God is teaching me a new thing.

Broken is good.   Broken is beautiful.

I don’t want to return to the life of saying I’m fine when it is a lie.  I don’t want to return to pretending to have it all together when I really don’t.  I don’t want to refuse love from others because I can take care of myself.  I don’t want to miss out on what God wants to do because I am busy making my plan work.

I want to live broken.  I want to live beautiful.

If you know me, you know I love music.  This song has been speaking much to my heart.  And this book…is changing the way I have viewed broken!

I think of Krisann and she never wants me to throw anything away.  She wants to take all the things that I would say are broken or trash, and she takes them and recreates them into something beautiful.  As a mom, this can be EXTREMELY frustrating!!!  But what better truth for me to learn from her…broken things are beautiful.  And broken things are useful…not disqualified.