Articles
If It Isn't Broken...Break It
The truism that states, "If it isn't broken, don't fix it" may be true with some things, but not the human heart (Psalm 51:17). If our hearts aren't broken, they need to be.
Have you ever heard of "Kintsugi?" Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with a "glue" made of gold. Rather than throwing away a vase, bowl, or cup that had been dropped and broken, these items can be repaired by gluing the pieces back together with gold. The repair can actually make the piece of pottery more beautiful and more valuable than it was before it was broken.
On a personal level, I have learned the value of brokenness. For the majority of my life, everything was easy. The biggest challenges I faced throughout my youth seem trifling to me today. My life, along with my wife, had a fairy-tale beginning, but eventually we began to experience "breaks" (e.g. the miscarriage of a child; the death of my father-in-law, mother-in-law, and my dad; and most shattering, the choices of one of our children).
These breaks, and countless others, could cause one to retreat, give up, and become bitter. They hurt (present tense), but my wife and I refuse to allow our life together to be little more than useless, broken shards of pottery littering the floor. No, instead, we've given the broken pieces to the Lord who has put us back together, I believe, even more valuable in his service than before (Psalm 147:3). The breaks haven't been desired, but they have been profitable in the hands of "The Potter" (Romans 9:20-23).
If you've been where we've been; if you are where we are; if your life has been shattered by loss, disappointment, and sin, don't give up (Galatians 6:9). God can do amazing things with the pieces of your life. In fact, he can make you more useful and beautiful than you were before you were broken.
