Disappointments and ugliness we want to be washed away, are often opportunities God uses to create beauty. Our suffering produces a steadfast hope.
…We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character and character produces hope.
Romans 5:3-4, ESV
Unruly Ground
There has been an unruly area of ground in my backyard. A tree had fallen a few years ago during an ice storm, causing me all kinds of anxiety. And another smaller tree was leaning over ready to topple at any minute.
I had a college student cut up as much as his small chain saw could handle. But, he had to leave behind the fallen trunk of the tree. Every time I cut our grass, I circle the tree and its fallen stump. I mutter and grimace about the day I finally have my nice yard back.
Need for Peace
This past year, I bought some seed to plant. They were wildflowers- pollinators. The kind I love because they encourage bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
In the early morning, I love sitting outside with my coffee and the scriptures to read, think, and pray. I knew these flowers would be just what my yard needed to encourage all of this. A quiet space of restoration and peace.
Need to Dream
I wanted to plant my seeds, but I tend to get overwhelmed when an area is too big. My friend Lisa has been gardening for a long time, so I asked for her input on my yard. I needed some help dreaming. Where did my seed need to go? How could I make it the place I needed to send my thoughts toward God.
I thought I knew the spot, but I was very wrong. Lisa headed for the stump. The one I had brooded and whined over. The one I knew had to go. “Look,” she said, “This is perfect. The stump frames a semi-circle.”
Rich Fertile Ground
She was right, of course. Where the tree had fallen, leaves had covered and nurtured the soil. The ground was soft, easy to dig, and rich. Much richer than the red clay everywhere else.
However, it still was not an easy spot to work in. There were lots of roots and it needed conditioning. But the very piece of wood I wanted out, was what gave this bed its structure. It grounded the space.
Mind on Truth
I too often see this for myself. The very disappointment, characteristic, or person I want to go, is the very opportunity Christ is using to develop, to sanctify, and to bring beauty from ashes.
I love how God used my friend to point me to the very stump I was despairing, to bring beauty to an area I desperately wanted. I see the body of Christ do this often in my life. They point me to what is true, what is real, what is possible. Christ is showing up in the very areas I want to be removed. He is enough so I do not have to be. I fool myself into thinking I can be. But, even on my best days, I am in need of the One who prepares a way and makes the paths straight.
For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
What force in your life are you looking at with disdain? What area of your life do you wish would go away and fly right? Could this be the very place Christ is producing rich soil in you? Look to Him who goes before us. Ask for His help and His wisdom.
When we hand over the broken pieces of our hearts to the Lord, we can expect restoration. We emerge from His mending with even greater beauty and value.
A few years ago, I found myself in one of the most lovely places I’ve ever seen: Duck, North Carolina. A tiny barrier island at the northernmost tip of the Outer Banks, Duck is nestled between the peaceful sound on one side and the mighty ocean on the other. It was such a blessing to spend a week in this coastal paradise.
I made the trip with a group of eight close friends who were walking intimately with the Lord and with one another. One of the women in our group had a friend who owned this gorgeous beach house, and she allowed us to use her home for our annual girls’ getaway.
The place was palatial! Beautiful balconies off of each bedroom provided perfect perches for sipping coffee and savoring quiet time in the bright morning sun. Sprawling wrap around decks with rocking chairs and hammocks offered comfy spots for leisurely reading or napping in the afternoon shade.
The rooftop deck invited early evening musings as we took in stunning sunsets over the ocean. And incredible waterfront views on every side lent a picturesque backdrop for sweet conversations or time alone with the Lord.
A Sisterhood of Believers
In this place, we were surrounded by such magnificent beauty; yet each one of us had brought broken pieces of our hearts that needed mending. (For the sake of anonymity, I will not use my friends’ real names).
Nancy’s husband had been in and out of the hospital for over a year with repeated major surgeries and life-threatening infections. Rosalynn’s daughter was struggling with anxiety and other mental health issues. Sara’s husband had a severe health problem that forced him to indefinitely halt his career as a commercial airline pilot. She was also heartbroken over her son’s battle with alcohol and drug addiction.
Ana was dealing with severe exhaustion from issues related to her diabetes. I was in the middle of a very deep financial wilderness season where I could barely keep my kids fed and a roof over our heads.
Each one of us had arrived with so much brokenness, suffering, and strife. Our hearts longed for restoration and peace. Throughout that week, the Lord refreshed our souls with the natural beauty of the island. He comforted our hearts with the sweet fellowship of this sisterhood of believers.
Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
1 Thessalonians 5:11
Three Artists
One of our dear friends almost didn’t make the trip. The previous year, Mary had suffered a tragic loss in her family–a loss involving the ocean. Reeling from the emotional aftershocks of the incident, Mary was still trying to find her bearings. She was not sure if her heart could handle returning to the sea. Shortly before we left for the trip, however, the Lord gave Mary the courage to go.
One afternoon, I was standing in the kitchen visiting with Mary and Sara. To set this up properly, I should mention that–in very different ways–all three of us are artists. Mary is an amazingly gifted painter, Sara is a wonderful poet, and I am a songwriter. As the three of us gathered around that kitchen island, the Lord did something beautiful for our broken artist hearts. He gave us a glimpse of the tender beauty and care that He so lovingly uses to mend the hearts of His beloved daughters.
He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
Psalm 147:3
A Poem…
Sara had brought a poem that she wanted to share with Mary. The piece described the Japanese art of Kintsugi, which means “golden joinery or repair.” This ancient art form involves the restoration of broken pottery with a lacquer that’s mixed with powdered gold. The resulting pieces–the mended vessels–hold even greater beauty and value than the originals.
As Sara recited the sweet poem, we beheld a beautiful depiction of the way the Lord heals our hearts. Just like the Kintsugi artisans, He carefully considers and deftly handles each delicate and fragile shard. And with His loving touch, He gently puts us back together again. Restoring us, He fills our seams and our scars with something even more precious than gold–His love is the bond that makes us whole. Under His master hand, we emerge even stronger and more beautiful for the mending.
But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
As Sara finished reading the poem, Mary was in tears. Mary shared how she had just returned from a long walk on the beach with the Lord. She had been so reluctant to return to this place of such heartbreak and loss. Yet the Lord–in His tender and merciful way–had softly touched her heart by opening her eyes to the beauty surrounding her.
As she took each step on the soft sand, He guided her gaze to a new colorful sight. Each one contained uniquely beautiful tones and hues. The soft pinks and subtle blues of the seashells were like watercolors. Puffs of white foam on the grey sand strewn with black sea bark–a black and white rendering. Stark streaks of marigold and turquoise across the sky–a bold acrylic abstract. Wisps of bright green sea grass gently waving from the breezy dunes–a simple yet alluring landscape scene.
Like a palate resting on her arm as she made brushstrokes on her canvas, this natural array of color offered new creative possibilities. Her Creator was reawakening her painter’s heart. All of this splendor was right there in front of her, on magnificent display.
Through the beauty of this simple seaside setting, the Lord was showing His beloved daughter one of His most treasured works. It was not the physical scenery that lay before her–it was her very own heart. She was a daughter after His own heart. A painter, gifted and trained by the Master. And she was His masterpiece.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10
A Song
As Mary finished sharing, I almost couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Earlier that day, the Lord had taken me on a similar journey on the beach, and He was speaking to me through all the broken seashells along the shore.
I had been pouring out my heart to Him. Desperately seeking peace and assurance that my family would survive this wilderness season of deep hardship and lack. And as He often does, He brought me solace through the lyrics of a new song. I sang it there in the kitchen for my friends, as I knew it was meant not only for me but for their hearts as well. It’s called Broken Seashells:
Broken seashells, on the seashore: works of art, strewn in the sand.
In this masterpiece, He has created, even the refuse is grand. O even the refuse is grand.
We all long for beauty, the desire’s built in.
Made to reflect His glory, we’re hewn by a master hand. Yes we’re hewn by our Master’s hand.
With a blueprint on every fingertip, and a light in every eye,
a love in each heart, and a story to live by. It’s His story we live by.
We all long for meaning, for a purpose within.
Made to trust His leading, and follow a master plan. Yes we follow our Master’s plan.
With a blueprint on every fingertip, and a light in every eye,
a love in each heart, and a story to live by. It’s His story we live by.
Broken people, on the seashore: works of art strewn in the sand.
In this masterpiece, He has created, even the refuse is grand. Yes, even the refuse is grand.
Broken seashells, on the seashore…
Hope Anderson, “Broken Seashells”
Restoration
So the Lord used a poem, a painting, and a song to bring restoration to our hearts. And although not every wound was completely healed in that week, He touched our hearts in such beautifully unique ways that we could not deny the goodness of our Creator.
What has the Lord used to bring restoration to your broken heart? Do you know that your heart contains the bonds of His love, which is far more precious than pure gold?
When we allow the Lord to restore the brokenness in our hearts, He makes us into something beautiful. Indeed, He makes all things beautiful in His time. Beauty for ashes.
A few weeks ago I attended a friend’s beautiful birthday celebration. But this was no ordinary birthday party! It was a Girl’s Day (and night) of epic proportion. I’m talking lunch, coffee, pedicures, shopping, cocktails, and a gourmet dinner. It was truly a fairy tale kind of afternoon.
But like any beautiful fairy tale, brokenness emerged as part of the story. At one point, we were all sitting around a table on a warm, breezy veranda. That’s when the birthday girl suggested we play a get-to-know-you trivia game.
Bits of Brokenness…
As my friend read off the unique facts about each woman, we were to match the descriptor with each woman’s name. As she read the descriptions, bits of brokenness revealed themselves. One woman survived breast cancer. Another woman served in the military in Afghanistan. Someone else had just given birth three weeks ago. And another’s husband almost died twice last year….the incredible list went on! Given that I was new to the group, I had no idea which description matched which woman.
And as I looked around the table at all their beautiful faces, pretty clothes, and newly painted nails, I was still at a loss. Honestly, I found it hard to believe that this group–of such outwardly put together women–could have experienced such deep depths of brokenness. When my friend revealed the answers to the questions, I looked at each woman at the table. Each one was a testament to the amazing beauty that emerges when we allow the Lord to restore our brokenness.
He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
Psalm 147:3
A Therapeutic Process…
A simple illustration of how the Lord has turned my brokenness into beauty is through the craft of jewelry making. For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved making jewelry. As a little girl, I would sneak into my mom’s sewing kit, hunting for colorful embroidery floss. It took some doing to unwrap the threads from the pokey pincushions and other sewing supplies. But once I had my assortment of colors, I’d spend hours making elaborate macrame friendship bracelets.
Amid the emotional chaos of my parents’ unraveling relationship, the slow straightening, pulling, and knotting of the long strings became a therapeutic process. I remember feeling so satisfied when I’d finally finished a bracelet.
Slowly yet surely, I would transform the once tangled, stringy mess into a tightly fashioned pattern of beauty. And doesn’t this mirror how the Lord works in our hearts? Under His patient and steady hand, the once seemingly hopeless, jumbled mess of a broken heart is mended into a beautifully woven masterpiece.
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted….
Isaiah 61:1
Castaways…
A few years ago, I found myself in need of some jewelry therapy once again! My husband and I were in the middle of a financial wilderness season–which posed a problem for someone whose love language is gift giving! I simply couldn’t bear the thought of allowing a friend or family member’s birthday to pass without giving her a gift. Because I couldn’t afford to buy anything, I decided to make jewelry to give as presents.
The only problem was, the pretty new beads from the local bead store were pricey. But the Holy Spirit gave me an ingenious idea for how to get my hands on free jewelry supplies. I began asking friends and family to give me any old, broken, or castaway jewelry that they were willing to part with. Then, I’d take apart the old pieces and make them new jewelry from the supplies I received. Upcycling at its finest!
Their Trash, My Treasure…
It was only a matter of time before the floodgates of jewelry supplies opened. Soon, women were bringing me bags of broken or unwanted jewelry, and their trash truly became my treasure! Amid my fear and uncertainty about our family’s financial future, once again, I was able to find comfort in the simple physical process of making jewelry.
After putting my baby and toddler to bed, I’d sit for hours sorting through all the broken pieces, dismantling and organizing the beads, playing around with different color combinations, and exploring new designs. As I delved into that creative process, the Creator was sorting through the broken pieces of my heart–untangling knots from old wounds and refashioning me into His original design.
Broken to Beautiful…
Fast forward a few years, and the Holy Spirit began to show me how this creative process–of taking something broken and making it beautiful–has tremendous potential as a tool for ministry. That’s when the Lord gave me the idea to host guided jewelry making parties as a form of ladies’ fellowship. I presented the idea to my pastor’s wife, and our ladies’ Bible study group decided to host our first Broken to Beautiful event.
The evening was such a blessing! My pastor’s wife shared a powerful message about Christ’s restoration; we enjoyed a time of food and fellowship, and I shared my testimony of how the Lord has taken me on a journey from a place of brokenness to one of beauty.
That night, I shared with those ladies something that I know to be true: We are not beautiful despite being broken; rather, we are beautiful precisely because we have experienced brokenness. And when we allow the Lord to restore our broken parts, He puts us back together perfectly, making us even more beautiful than before. When that evening ended, two new souls were added to the kingdom, as two women handed their broken hearts over to the Lord. He is now making them beautiful.
Before long, our ladies group began to take Broken to Beautiful events to the young women living in a nearby orphanage. The girls sort through the broken, dismantled jewelry, choose their favorite beads, and create beautiful new pieces of jewelry. Through this hands-on activity, they experience a physical picture of the spiritual process that the Lord wants to do in each of our hearts.
He sees their broken hearts. Not as accidents or mistakes to be discarded and thrown away. But as precious jewels, full of splendor and worthy of honor in His kingdom. Each time we finish an event with these young ladies, their countenances change–from dark and sullen to light and hopeful. And their bracelets serve as a powerful outward reminder of the inner beauty and worth that they possess.
Oh Lord Help Us…
Recently, the Director of Oh Lord Help Us, Rachael, invited me to begin holding Broken to Beautiful events in our community. We hosted our first one last week and plan to host many more. We’re inviting women to bring their old, broken, and castaway jewelry to the events, and they will leave with a beautiful new piece that they have created.
Pieces from their broken jewelry will eventually show up in the new designs created by women at future gatherings. Their beads could also be incorporated into beautiful pieces created by the young ladies in our Hope + Vine artisans program.
So, Beloved, our brokenness becomes our beauty. Literally and spiritually. Because we are women who serve a God who gives us beauty for ashes. A God who truly makes all things beautiful in His time.
He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
How has the Lord turned your brokenness into beauty? Would you like to host or attend a Broken to Beautiful event? If so, contact us: events@ohlordhelp.us
Comparison is something that we all battle. It is crucial that we focus on what God has given us so we can break loose from the bondage comparison brings.
“Why did they get that and I didn’t?” “What do they have what I don’t?” “Must be nice.” “I wish I looked like that.” How many times a day do we allow ourselves to think and even speak these things?
Comparison has reared it’s ugly head many times in my life. It is a constant battle to not compare myself to those around me. I often find myself focusing on what others have that I don’t, instead of focusing on the blessings in my life.
Comparing Accomplishments
Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct.
Galatians 6:4-5, NLT
I am one that tends to focus on what those around me are doing. I focus on the things they are accomplishing and wonder why I am not able to do what they are doing… then I wallow.
We are called to focus on our own work. We need to pay attention to what we are doing and make sure we are doing our work admirably and with good conduct. This results in a job well done. When we turn our attention to what we are doing it allows us to grow and will help us overcome the trend of comparison in our lives.
Comparing Possessions
Then Jesus said to them, ‘Watch out! Guard yourself against all kinds of greed. After all, one’s life isn’t determined by one’s possessions, even when someone is very wealthy.’
Luke 12:15, CEB
One of the biggest ways comparison takes root is when we look at what others have. I constantly have the thought that “it must be nice” when I look at what those around me have. We can be so quick to focus on what we are lacking that we forget about the many blessings we have. Our life is not determined by our possessions but by our actions.
For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.
1 Timothy 6:7, ESV
No possession we have on this world will be taken out. It is futile to be jealous of what others have. At the end of the day, Jesus has to be enough for us. Therefore, it has nothing to do with how much money we have or how nice our car is. It is all about how we live out our faith.
Comparing Stages of Life
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18, ESV
It seems like no matter where we are in life, we are always ready for the next stage. Because of this, we compare ourselves to others in the stage of life we desire. When we are single we want to be in a relationship. When we are in a relationship we want to be married. And when we are married we want kids… so on and so on. We are in a constant state of discontent…
This goes against what the Lord wants for us. He tells us to give thanks in all circumstances because this is God’s will. Our stage of life in God’s will. This is the point He has taken us. Each person is where God wants them to be, so instead of comparing where we are in life with everyone else, we should celebrate with one another; Content and thankful for where we are.
Comparing Looks
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous — how well I know it.
Psalm 139:14, NLT
At least ten times a day I am bombarded with thoughts of how my looks don’t measure up with those around me. There are so many voices out there telling us how we are supposed to look. And advertisements trying to sell us on how to look better. We are constantly comparing our looks with those around us.
When we do this we are telling God he made a mistake and that he should have done a better job creating us. We are wonderfully made. God’s workmanship is marvelous! God beautifully, uniquely, and perfectly created us.
We all look different from one another but that doesn’t mean we should compare ourselves with one another. While it is true that we need to take care of God’s creation, that does not come through comparison it comes through paying attention to and being grateful for the body God has given us.
Ending the Comparison
Comparison is something we will constantly have to battle in our lives. Recognizing when it happens, allows God’s truth to replace the lies. The lies telling us we aren’t good enough. God has blessed us abundantly and individually. Comparison is a disservice to ourselves, our neighbors, and most importantly, our God.
You are made in the creative image of a wonderful Creator. He lovingly invites you to continually create with Him for His Kingdom!
Eighteen years old and on a high school mission trip in Washington State, my mind racing, trying to find peace. It had been a wonderful morning of leading VBS with a local church, but I felt out of place. Lost in the chaos and noise, a small insecure teenager, I couldn’t wrap my mind around my feelings. Why did I want to retreat? Why wasn’t my heart excited like my bubbly peers around me?
We went out to the beach for a fun afternoon. I had never been to the West Coast and was struck by the beauty of the charcoal colored jagged rock that trimmed the shore. I found a quiet place to myself, stuck my feet in the sand and began to pray. Right there, as I listened to the roar of the waves and buried my feet, I knew God was real.
Creation continues to astound me. I marvel at the changing color of leaves as our great oaks prepare for winter. I sit in awe at the sights and sounds of the outdoors. Birds chirping, branches blowing in the wind, squirrels racing up trees as bunnies bounce across the grass, under the canvas of orange and pink painting across the sky. And at the beach, I am undone! The roar of ocean waves, the sticky sand between my toes, the smells of salt water in the air all express the majesty of Jesus. From the tiniest ladybug to the largest mountain, I am continually drawn to my Creator as I observe the beauty of His handiwork.
All creation glorifies God.
Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord, For He commanded and they were created.
Psalm 148:4-5
Yes, all creation testifies to the beauty and majesty of our Maker. Every tree, mountain, star, octopus, lily, bumblebee and child magnifies The Lord. And you, yes you, show off His glory.
The Creator in You
There is a Swahili proverb that says, “The daughter of a lion is also a lion.” What does this mean for us? If our Father is the Creator, what does this make us? Creative.
Since the beginning of mankind, Jesus has invited us to create with Him. You, my friend, are made in the creative image of a wonderful Creator. He lovingly invites you to continually create with Him for His Kingdom!
In the beginning, God gave Adam three things to do, reproduce (Genesis 1:28), name the animals (Genesis 2:19) and cultivate the garden (Genesis 2:15). In every task, the Almighty God who created the universe with just a word, was letting man join Him in creating. God chose us to create with Him! He chose us to be His partners. You see, as Adam and Eve reproduced, they created life in Eve’s womb. As Adam spoke animal names, he created their identity. And, while he cultivated the garden, he created food and beauty.
Noah partnered with God to bring salvation to eight people and every kind of animal (Genesis 8).
Abraham bartered with God to rescue Lot from the burning city (Genesis 18:23 – 33).
Joseph worked with God to feed all of Egypt (Genesis 41 – 42).
Moses walked with God as he led a million slaves out of Egypt (Exodus 13).
Ezekiel spoke to the bones and the Breath of God and the dry bones lived (Ezekiel 37)!
Esther was God’s agent to bring justice to His people (Esther 1 – 10).
Jesus taught, healed the sick, cast out demons together with His disciples.
And Jesus used a little boy to provide lunch for over 5,000 people on a hillside one day (John 6).
Humans are still partners in creation. She creates hope, with God, with a spoken word of encouragement. With God, she creates beauty through paint, song and dance. She creates life and food, with God, in her garden. And as our best creation, when we conceive, God helps us make people, beautifully made in His image! There are no limits to what we can fashion with God.
Jesus loves creating together with us! He does not need us, but He wants us. He chooses to partner with us, even though we are flawed. It is an incredible miracle that we can join The Creator in creating life and beauty on earth!
When I sat on the beach that day as a high school student, I no longer felt out of place or ashamed. In the Presence of God, I felt chosen.
Called to Create
Your calling is not to simply observe the beauty of Jesus, but to jump in with Him to create more.
For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].
Ephesians 2:10
God created us IN Christ Jesus FOR good works that He has already prepared. You are His masterpiece, and He has plans for you. He chooses YOU to demonstrate His glory, and He invites YOU to share His message, to further His Kingdom. He knows you, loves you and asks you to create with Him.
There is beauty in you! Unleash it. When we say yes to the partnership, God performs the miracle.
God, the Master Artist, looks at the shards of our brokenness and sees beauty that we can’t. God uses the brokenness and creates a new, beautiful mosaic.
I don’t know anyone in this world who has escaped brokenness. I know I haven’t. In fact, brokenness touched my life in profound ways early on in my life. I spent most of my adult life thus far trying to hide how broken I was, but once I began to acknowledge all the scattered pieces of me laying all around, I found myself desperate to find a way to put the pieces of me back together.
I found myself on a journey towards healing from childhood sexual abuse. But every time I thought I had finally fit two pieces of me back together, I would see a new pile of all that was shattered in a corner I didn’t see before. I pleaded with God to put me back together. After all, He promises “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3, ESV). Surely healing meant He would put me back together.
As I have walked this journey, I have come to understand healing isn’t what I envisioned it would be. I thought of healing as God putting the broken pieces of me back together like a puzzle. While I can’t possibly put all the countless pieces of me back into the places they were before, I was certain God could. Yet, He hasn’t. His healing isn’t about putting me back together. It’s about making the old new.
The problem with putting the pieces back together is that once the pieces were fitted where they were to begin with, they provide an appearance of wholeness yet are still fractured. A puzzle put together still breaks in the same places. It appears whole, you see the entire picture the pieces come together to create, yet it’s perpetually broken, fractured forever. God’s healing won’t put the pieces back together to give me an appearance of wholeness while leaving me still broken. So what is He doing instead?
God isn’t putting me together like a puzzle. When He looks at the chaotic mess of my scattered shards, He sees a new work of art as only an Artist can. He not only sees this new work of art, He begins creating it. He picks up each broken piece of me, lovingly cleans it and polishes it, and He places it in its new place in the mosaic He is making out of me.
A mosaic, you see, is made by taking broken pieces and arranging them into a work of art held in place by some kind of glue or cement. That glue holds all those broken pieces together as one work of art. It is whole yet comprised of what was once broken. But the eyes of the artist saw beauty in the midst of the broken, and created something new out of what once was old. Unlike a puzzle, a mosaic, though made of broken pieces, is completely whole. It is held together, cemented in place, so it can’t be taken apart.
God, the Master Artist, looks at the shards of my brokenness and sees beauty that I can’t. The abuse that broke me cannot be undone (trust me, I’ve tried), but God uses the brokenness and creates a new mosaic. He doesn’t place all those shattered pieces back where they once were to create the appearance of wholeness. No, He does more than that. He honors the story of each broken piece, polishing it off, and places it in the glue of His grace and mercy and love. That glue can never be broken again. Out of old, broken pieces, He is fashioning a beautiful, new mosaic.
Of course, the brokenness can be seen and each shard still has a story to tell, but the glue of His faithfulness holding all the pieces together creates a whole piece of art that tells of His goodness through the brokenness. It tells of a love that refuses to leave me shattered. Healing is not putting the pieces of me back together. It’s much greater than that. Healing is making a new work of art…wholeness made out of brokenness.
As I said at first, I don’t know of anyone in this life who has escaped brokenness, and I don’t know what it is that broke you and left you in pieces. So my dear and precious sisters, broken and scattered, take heart. He is not putting the old you back together. He is not merely fitting pieces of an old puzzle back where they once were so all can see where you broke.
He loves you too much to leave you with the appearance of wholeness yet perpetually broken. He is taking all the broken pieces of who you used to be and artfully creating a new masterpiece, telling a story of how you are being put back together…a story of how where you have walked will shape who you become. You, my dear sister, are not a puzzle to be fit back together into the old. You are a mosaic being masterfully made new.
It’s normal for a baby to smile at themselves in the mirror. It’s even listed as a developmental action that babies do around 4 months old. So I know that my baby girl is not the first to do this, but my goodness, she sure is cute when she does. Her little face just lights up. She is happy to see that other little person smiling back at her.
When she first started doing this, it struck me, when did we stop smiling at ourselves in the mirror?
Stop It!!
I’m my own worst critic. Standing in front of the mirror, examining, critiquing, judging. I’m too pale, too flat chested, too much skin around my belly, and my hair has too many cowlicks. This is not the example I want to be for my daughter. It is not the legacy I want to pass on. I want her to know that she can accept herself for who she is, and even like who she is without feeling guilty. There is nothing wrong with her or her appearance. I want her to know that beauty is not defined by the way we look, or the comments of others.
It is ridiculous how many voices we listen to in our heads. First we tear ourselves down, thinking that we are not “enough.” And then when we start to change the voice in our head, and feel good about who we are, we feel guilty for being confident and worry that we sound arrogant and conceited.
This past week I was holding my daughter and looking in the mirror. At first I said, “Look at that pretty girl.” And I felt troubled, knowing that I want to pass on a legacy of beauty. So I said, “look at those pretty girls. They are beautiful, and healthy, and strong!”
Epiphany
I don’t fix myself up to become beautiful. I fix myself up because I am beautiful.
I don’t make myself look pretty because I need to feel confident. It is simply that I am worth spending time on. I do not want my daughter to think she needs makeup and perfect hair to be deemed beautiful. I want her to see her outward appearance as an expression of the beauty within her.
I don’t eat good things to become healthy. I eat good things because I am healthy.
I don’t deny myself doughnuts because I need to lose weight. I make healthy choices because my body is worth taking care of. I do not want my daughter to become obsessed with food, neither over-indulging, nor over-denying. I want her to see food as nourishment, not as a comfort or as something to control.
I don’t exercise to become strong. I exercise because I am strong.
I don’t run to prove myself to others. I run because God created me with the ability and desire to do so. I do not want my daughter to feel pressure to be someone she is not. I want her to be confident and strong, knowing who God has created her to be.
If we are always striving to become something, we never experience the freedom of being what we already are.
Quick! Go find a mirror and smile at yourself. It’s ok to like that beautiful person smiling back at you. She is pretty remarkable!
xoxo
Do you know other beautiful, healthy, strong mommas that need to know their worth?
