Broken Is Beautiful

How Broken is Beautiful

At a museum a few years ago, I saw the most beautiful mosaics. As I admired the way the artists took yucky, broken, and unusable things, God whispered in my ear.  You’re just like these mosaics.  Broken but beautiful.  At this particular moment, I struggled to believe this truth that God whispered in my ear.

In the museum, I saw jelly beans arranged to form animal pictures.  I think this was an excellent way to get rid of the awful tasting black jelly beans!  

I also came across mosaic butterflies.  Old bolts, screws, and weird metal pieces created these butterflies.  

It was evident to me when I saw the butterflies that those metal pieces were broken and unusable.  A mechanic couldn’t use them, nor could a carpenter use them.  These pieces were unwanted, and for all purposes, considered junk!   However, in the hands of the right person, they were crafted into something beautiful.

How Our Broken Is Beautiful

The same is true for us.  We all have places in our lives that we feel broken at one time or another.  

There will be times when we feel unwanted or not valued. 

We may have closets with painful experiences stuffed inside of them. They haunt us even to think about what’s inside.  

Cancer, autism, fibromyalgia, migraines–broken bodies may plague us daily.   

When we consider each hurtful feeling, each painful experience and each broken body piece in the hands of our Savior, he is more than able to use each of those to bring beauty into our lives.  

Wrestling With Brokenness

Sometimes, I find it’s more comfortable to be broken than to let God work in me. When I’m struggling, I don’t trust the One who creates beauty from brokenness.  I don’t believe he is a good, good Father on my worst days.  Do you ever think your plans are better than his?  Do you ever feel that he is not trustworthy?

I love that God knew we would wrestle with such hard truths amidst brokenness.  

In the book of Genesis, God gives a beautiful illustration of what it looks like to cling to the Father and trust him with the broken pieces.

In this Old Testament illustration, we find Jacob in a quandary.  Esau is coming to meet Jacob, and this doesn’t appear to be a welcome back party.  Esau is coming with 400 men, and Jacob is terrified.  Jacob intends to spend the night in desperate prayer but finds himself in the biggest wrestling match of his life.  At one point, Jacob realizes he is wrestling with God.  

Genesis 32:26 says, “But Jacob replied, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.'”  In the middle of despair, Jacob met God and declared he was holding onto God until he turned Jacob’s mess into something beautiful.  Jacob believed God would do something incredible.

Trusting God With Brokenness

My friends, if we could only trust the master artist!  The master artist created the world from scratch, complete with zebras and giraffes.  He created the beautiful flowers, the majestic trees, and the elegant butterflies.  He breathed HIS breath into you.  You are his!  

And he knows how to take the broken, painful and unwanted parts of your life and make them beautiful.  Will you, like Jacob, cling to him until he turns your shattered life into a beautiful masterpiece?

Wife Step: Where are you doubting God’s goodness?  Spend some time in prayer today, letting God know that you desire him to turn your brokenness into beauty.  Cling to him and let him do his healing work in your heart.​

Karen lives in Madison, Alabama with her husband and three children. Karen has served as Preschool and Children’s Pastor and has been involved in women’s ministry for many years leading small groups, making hospital visits, organizing retreats, and encouraging the hearts of women. Karen now blogs at Glimpses of Faith and Struggles.  What started out as a way to communicate medical facts has become a place where Karen uses life experiences to encourage others in their life journey.  When she’s not busy caring for her family or writing, you might find her cooking or crafting.