I was recently listening to the testimony of a woman who, quite frankly, had experienced more trauma than I could have imagined in one life time. As I listened intently, a wash of emotions came over me. I thought, "God, this is almost too much to hear let alone bear!" Honestly, my heart sank to a place of empathy for her that I wasn't sure I would easily recover from. And yet, she bravely continued to share instance after instance of how she endured her flawed life AND survived each traumatic event with God's help.
I am not exactly sure where the unrealistic term, "flawless" comes from in relationship to mere human beings. There was only one man who walked the earth as a flawless individual and that was Jesus. The rest of us? Well, let's just say, nothing could be farther from the truth. It is an aspiration that takes us far far away from the saving power of Jesus and the main reason He died to redeem our sins. When this brave brave woman shared how she finally accepted Jesus into her heart to mend the brokenness, it brought a coda to a journey that would not have been survivable otherwise.
Many of us reading this blog today have experienced instances of great despair on par with our greatest moments of joy. Some of us recognize that, from an earthly standpoint, the balance of low and high moments don't often even out. And yet, in the spiritual realm each believer has the confidence of knowing, without a shadow of a doubt, that God is busy working all things together for our good.
Kintsugi is the Japanese term for broken pottery which, when repaired with gold, is made more beautiful than the original. God does that doesn't He?! He takes each shard and fragment of our brokenness and repairs us with His Grace, Mercy and unconditional Love such that we can shine with His gold thread woven in and through us. Because of His workmanship and in this new state of Grace, people can see both our intended beauty and our enhanced beauty like never before. Not flawless, but flawed AND beautiful.
I pray that as God offers to gracefully repair your man made breaks, that you are able to fully yield to the repair process and then sing the praises of the Master Repairer of broken people.
Much love! Sylvia
https://youtu.be/FP9FYyYso8o Enjoy "Gracefully Broken" by Tasha Cobbs Leonard
Cover Art by Roxy Fields
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