Beautifully Broken

 

What’s the worst thing you’ve broken? A priceless heirloom? A neighbor’s window? A DVD player in the middle of a Twilight marathon? Brokenness usually has negative connotations. If something is broken, it’s no longer the same. It’s damaged. But do our experiences that make us broken always have to end badly?

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 ESV

 All things. If you ate all the Oreos during a late night splurge with your roommate, you haven't only eaten the perfectly round intact cookies. You’ve eaten the ones missing the sweet cream filling and the ones that are crushed chocolate crumbles trying to escape to the back of the package. Jesus takes our Oreo cookie crumbles and makes them into an even more delicious cookie.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4 ESV

What time is it for you? Maybe you’re weeping. Maybe you’re dancing. Maybe you’re trying to weep and dance at the same time to propel yourself out of that mourning place and into that laughing place. I’ve been in all of those places, and this is what I know. I’m not in control, but I know who is, and He’s not going to let me slip through His fingers.

 

“The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.” 

Proverbs 16:4 ESV

There is a time for weeping, but whatever it is that brings us to that place does not have to end in that place. Those salty warm sometimes seemingly never ending tears can end in a downpour of new fallen showers that cause us to dance when we least expect it.

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 

Revelation 21:4-5 ESV

I know some of you are going through really rough stuff, and I don’t want to make light of anything, but I want you do know that no matter what your situation is, there is hope in Jesus Christ. There is a time for everything. Maybe this is your laughing time. If it is, hold your head up high and laugh. Maybe this is your weeping time. If it is, let God wrap his arms around you while you weep. Seasons come and go, and if the fist of life has smashed you into a million broken pieces, God will pick each one up and make you into something even more beautiful than you ever could have imagined.

You Belong to Him

There are a lot of famous couples in history…Romeo and Juliet, Beauty and the Beast, Harry Potter and the snitch… I might not have a magical beast that will turn into a prince or a golden winged game piece, but I do have the God of the universe standing by my side.

I started this blog when I realized I needed purposeful focus in my life. Being at that age when the wedding and baby shower invitations fill the mailbox, it can be difficult to stand firm on your own when friends are going through different stages. The beauty of it is that I’m not on my own and neither are you.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9 ESV

God is with us and as his children, we are his sons and daughters. We are in his family. I moved to Phoenix from Chicago two and half years ago. Being away from my family has been the hardest part of this adventure because if I’m not careful, I can let lies of being alone penetrate into my mind and fill my heart. I know it’s deception though because I belong to God, and if you have accepted Him into your life so do you.  

1 Peter 2:9 says “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Not only do we belong to God, He CHOSE us. It makes me think of the all too familiar, yet torturous, middle school dance. The “lucky” girls get to dance with an actual boy while the rest of the partnerless hopefuls stand around in a circle talking with friends. The hopeful girl makes sure she seems involved in conversation, but also keeps one eye circulating around the room and one shoulder turned outwards so if by some miracle “he” does walk by, he’ll know she’s available.

Well, I’m here to tell you that The One has walked by, taken you by the hand, and has promised to not only dance with you through life, but be there when you’re crying and laughing and screaming and really not sure how you feel at all. No matter what, he won’t let you go. You belong to Him.

So here begins my journey, and I hope it can be encouragement to you too, that if you’re dating, married, or in a smaller family with just you and God right now, that your identity is not in any human relationship, but in the fact that you are a chosen child of God. Reach out and take the hand of your Dad that promises to be with you every step of His perfectly sometimes confusing planned way because God has plans for you and they don’t start in 30 days or 6 months or 5 years, they start right now.