Broken and Beautiful

This past week, Eva Marie Workshops hosted a socially-distanced, in-person workshop with Susan of Gardens of Grace. The workshop was titled “Beautifully Broken,” and as part of the session, Susan led us through a hands-on creative project in which we assembled and adhered broken pieces of colored tiles onto flower pots. When we finished, we each had a uniquely beautiful mosaic-patterned pot in which to plant seeds. 

“Broken” and “brokenness” can mean many things to many people. They can mean heartbreak and heartache. They can mean loss and grief. They can mean sadness and hurt. They can mean guilt and shame. Wherever we don’t feel whole in our lives can be a place where we feel broken. 

Many of us carry these heavy feelings of brokenness all alone, often too scared to share them out of fear that we might be rejected or abandoned. Instead, we might stuff them down in an attempt to forget them. We might try to cover them up with perfectionism or people pleasing or overspending, hoping we’re doing a good job of hiding them so no one will notice. Yet it can be so freeing–in the right, safe environment–to share our broken experiences, to tell our stories. It can feel like catching our breath.

When something we treasure breaks, we usually try to mend it because it’s special to us. We put it back together and love it. In Japanese culture, this process is referred to as kintsugi or kintsukuroi: “to repair with gold.” It’s the art of repairing broken pottery with gold, silver or platinum and understanding that it’s more beautiful for having been broken.

Wouldn’t it be uplifting if we saw ourselves as more valuable because we have been broken? God sees us and loves us. He creates something beautiful out of our brokenness.  Calee Reed expresses it so well in her song “Broken and Beautiful.” 

The broken pieces of our lives are like the pieces of a mosaic. Each piece is a different shape, size, and color, and it shines brightly when the sun hits it. God is waiting for us to bring Him the shattered pieces of our lives. He will take each piece and put us back together in an even more radiant form. We will shine like the morning sun, and our reflection will be breathtaking. 

Have you been broken? Remember you are loved and valued by God. Bring Him your broken pieces. He has a purpose for your life because you are so very special and beautiful to Him.