Broken and Beautiful

by Rollie J.

My eldest daughter Karina is a talented artist. She is especially good at throwing beautiful and functional works of art on the potter’s wheel. We have several of her pieces scattered throughout our home, and I use a couple of her well-made and aesthetically pleasing mugs every day in my office. I smile when I think of her as I drink my morning coffee. Handmade gifts are so wonderful!

This bowl is also of her making. It’s beautiful, but it has one minor flaw that you don’t really see until you get up close and personal; it has a slight crack that runs vertically down the edge of the bowl. From afar it looks perfect, but spend time with it, and you realize it is flawed. Try and eat cereal with it… and you’ll have quite the milky mess. Mind you, it was not her craftsmanship or skill that was flawed, but the crack most likely happened in the kiln or the firing process. So even though it was made with lots of TLC, and expertise, it is still broken. In truth, it is both broken and beautiful.

I frequently use this bowl when I do a wedding homily. I talk about how we are all, in reality, broken and beautiful people. We are created by our Creator with great skill and tenderness. But we are all flawed, imperfect, sinner and saint people. None of us is perfect. We all come with the good, the bad, and the ugly inside of each of us. No exceptions. No exclusions.

I stand in front of the bride and groom and remind them that they are each beautifully, and wonderfully made creations. But, then in the midst of this special day filled with young love, and joyous celebration I point out that we are each flawed, imperfect, broken, and sinful people. It just comes with being human. And here’s the part most of us gloss over or ignore; bringing two imperfect people together into marriage does not suddenly create one perfect relationship. Quite the opposite. Two broken, flawed, imperfect people come together doubling those flaws. I urge the couple to put God at the center of their relationship. God is the only one who can make sense of the differences, who can give power to forgive, heal and mend, who can give strength to overcome when life gets difficult and all those differences and imperfections are made more obvious.

Casting Crowns sings this poignant and truth-filled song that speaks to this. Broken Together.

This song is such a beautiful reminder that there is no such thing as a perfect marriage, a perfect friendship, a perfect family, a perfect work team, or a perfect church. Maybe we just need to be reminded that we are all in this together and we each come, broken and beautiful and broken together.

The Japanese art of Kintsukuroi speaks to this so beautifully. Kintsukuroi means “to repair with gold.” The art of repairing broken pottery with gold or silver lacquer, understanding the piece is more beautiful for having been broken. This unique art form, rather than hiding the flaws, celebrates the brokenness and the gold or silver repairing of the cracks brings an enhanced beauty and elegance.

This is such an exquisite picture of how God can take our failures, our mistakes, our wrong turns, our missed turns, our poor choices, and our misfortunes and turn them into good. This is one of the beautiful aspects of being a Jesus follower. He takes the good, the bad, and the ugly of our lives, and weaves it all into a vessel that is both broken and beautiful. This can only happen when we surrender all of this to him at the foot of the cross. And when we surrender that flaw, that brokenness or wound, God will use that to bring about healing and goodness in our world.

For many years as a young adult and long into middle age I wrestled with that mysterious shadowy phantom: anxiety. I prayed thousands of times to have that anxiety removed or healed in my life. I was often ashamed to share this with anyone. Healing came, but not on my timeline to be sure. And now, looking backward through the rearview mirror, I can see how God has woven that difficulty, that struggle, that brokenness into the fabric of my life. Those scars have turned to beauty and helped me to be a more compassionate, genuine, and caring person.

How about you? Was it getting fired, losing your job, divorce, separation, breaking up, being dumped, not getting that promotion, not getting that job, blowing the shot, missing the goal, the time you cheated, that failure, your addiction, losing someone close to you, the accident, the illness, the hurricane, fire, tornado, or flood, financial ruin, investment loss, bankruptcy, depression, break down, anxiety, phobia, or fear?

None of these experiences are beyond God’s ability to forgive, redeem, restore, rebuild, and renew. That’s what God does! He doesn’t just love us when we hit home runs and are at the top of our game.

Bob Goff speaks to this so well in his book Live in Grace Walk in Love. “Jesus saw people’s failures as an opportunity to tell them the truth about themselves. After Peter denied Him on the loneliest night of his life, Jesus told him he would become the rock the church would be built upon. After the woman was caught in adultery and thrown at His feet, Jesus told her she wasn’t condemned. He said there was hope for a beautiful future if she wanted it. As He forgave people who brought shame upon themselves, He always took the opportunity to say they were more than their mistakes, and His grace was bigger than their lives. Jesus pointed people toward a better version of themselves.”

May you come to know, to face, and to accept the good, the bad, and the ugly of your life. May you have the courage to surrender all to Jesus. May you come to know His healing grace and forgiveness. May you realize that you are truly broken and beautiful.

-- Rollie J.

He heals the brokenhearted. And binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 1 Peter 5:10

Featured song: Casting Crowns, Broken Together, YouTube

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