Walking up the stairs to church, the crack in the window catches my eye. The crack is a symbol of the brokenness in our world. But it is not the only symbol of brokenness, we walk down the street and see a cracked car window or we go for a walk and step over a crack in the sidewalk. These cracks are visible to the eye, yet how many of us are journeying through this life with our own brokenness; our own brokenness that is not easily visible to other’s eyes.
Our brokenness seems like such a tiny crack to those who do not know us. Yet our own brokenness is so much bigger than what others see. We want to fix our brokenness. We want to feel whole and complete. But so often our own brokenness feels like a gigantic burden to those in our lives, but especially to our own selves. So we stand with our broken and scattered pieces and try to piece it back together again.
It is almost impossible to find the beauty in the midst of our broken selves, yet God takes us and makes beautiful things out of us. I am reminded once again of the Japanese art form “kintsugi.” According to Wikipedia, kintsugi is “the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum.” This art form reminds us of the history of the piece’s own brokenness. It also is the place where the light gets in. What if we looked at our own brokenness in much the same way?
The thing is it can be so easy for us to be swallowed up by our brokenness, yet God doesn’t leave us drowning. God puts individuals in our path who hold us up and help us to see the gifts of who God calls us to be. In other words, we are not defined by our brokenness, but rather are defined by who we are; “fearfully and wonderfully made children of God.” And in the end, that’s all that matters!
It’s all that matters because God sent God’s one and only Son into the world for each and every one of us. “For God so loved the world that God sent God’s one and only son into the world so that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Indeed, God did not send God’s son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that it might be saved through Him.”–John 3:16-17
As we journey to the cross, we find ourselves, in all of our brokenness, standing at the foot of the cross watching as Jesus’ dies for our sins. In the darkness of Good Friday, the sights and sounds of Jesus death alert us to the relentless reality of the cross. This simple wooden cross bears the weight of Jesus’ death but also bears the weight of each of us in our brokenness. And then hours later, on Easter morning, that weight is lifted as life not death, light not darkness, and wholeness not brokenness have the final word.
Trusting in the resurrection promise, God takes our own brokenness and in the words of Gungor, “makes beautiful things out of dust; makes beautiful things out of us.” And as beautiful children of God, we are continually made whole.
Thank you for this reminder of truth. I love this song by Gungor. I have been reading Ephesians 5 this week and have been thinking about what it means to walk in the light of God's love. I hope you have a lovely evening.
It's my fave song!