Can anything that’s broken ever be restored to its original form? No, not really. Even if on the surface, the object may appear to be flawless, but underneath you know it’s just not the same. Does that make it better or worse? What if no one else but you knew that it was broken, but now restored, does it really matter? Is the outward appearance all that matters in this world? And what if the previous damage can be seen, but is now repaired, is that better than trying to hide the damage or injury? Is there any shame with showing the hurt you have suffered? What if the scars left over from the wound endured reflects your strength and resolve to keep living? In today’s world it is daunting to “keep up appearances” and hide all your hurts and vulnerabilities.
I was reading a devotional recently that talked about the Japanese art practice of kintsugi, which is the art form of repairing broken pottery by applying types of lacquer mixed with gold, silver, or platinum dust. I’ve viewed a couple videos in the past that shows an artist taking a vase, deliberately breaking it into several pieces. What was once a crafted piece of pottery, is now a messy, ugly, jumbled pile of broken pieces of clay. But the kintsugi artist goes to work, methodically melding those many broken pieces back together to create a “new” vase that shows each crack and break in the outward facing surface of the vase held together with a fine line of lacquered gold to make the vase new and useful. A once beautiful vase in its original form has been restored to become an even stronger, more beautiful piece of art by its flawed appearance. It’s as if to say “brokenness” and “ugliness” can be “healed” and it’s okay to show the cracks and breaks, the piece’s “vulnerabilities” by its “damages”, but by kintsugi, it is restored to usefulness and a new beauty by its enduring strength.
I believe many of us can identify with the many areas of “brokenness” in our lives. Anyone who has loved, will experience brokenness of the heart somewhere along their journey. Disappointments, betrayals, lies, emotional hurts, flawed relationships, physical and mental abuses, and deceitfulness all contribute to many forms of brokenness in our life journeys. Some of the scars from the injuries are apparent, some are not.
But if brokenness is a “given” in our world, what can we do about it? If we cannot escape it, who or what can we turn to for healing and restoration? Physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual scars, even long after these wounds has healed on the outside, the weakness, vulnerability, and the distrust remains. Who can fix our broken hearts and emotional hurts, to restore our usefulness and strength? As Paul said in Romans 8: 18-25, this world is a broken world, brought about through sin that touches every aspect of our lives sooner or later. But there is still hope for us.
I believe our hope is turning to Jesus to restore our damaged and broken bodies, minds, hearts, and souls where no one else can. He is our only hope, because He sees every aspect of our vulnerability and brokenness, deep in our heart and soul, that no one else can see. At times we try very hard to hide the ugliness of our vulnerabilities, hurts, and brokenness, don’t we? We don’t want the attention or focus on us if we show our hurts and brokenness, our vulnerabilities and despair. We just want it to go away and give us an inner peace so we can go on with our lives. But the damage is too severe, the hurt too painful, the lies and betrayals too deep to overcome by ourselves. That is the moment when we must turn our attention outward to focus our attention on Jesus to find healing, restoration, and peace. God’s grace is greater and more powerful than the brokenness and hurt we’re experiencing.
It’s okay to cry out to God in our distress. He’s always there to listen to our cries for help. He’s the only one who fully understands and has compassion for the situation we’re in at that moment. He is the only one who can help us find the goodness and joy of life once again.
I pray that if you find yourself in a rubble of broken, cracked pieces of heart, mind, and soul, that you will cry out to God in your brokenness and ask Him to mend your heart, mind, and soul with His love and mercy. Pray for Him to restore you with a newfound joy and peace to carry you through your life’s journey. Put your faith, hope, love, and trust in Him!
Live, Love, and Grow in Jesus!!
Blessings,
Jerry
