WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE BEAUTIFULLY BROKEN?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE BEAUTIFULLY BROKEN?
I've talked before about how I see my life as a mosaic. How God has taken things in my life that were whole and broke them and is now putting it back together to create a new picture. It still contains remnants of the old, just re-purposed in a different way, with new pieces being added daily.
For the art cover on my podcast, I chose to take a picture of a mosaic bowl Greg and I got while we were in Israel a few years ago. It's a replication of a mosaic found in a catholic church that stands right by the Sea of Galilee called Church of the Multiplication. They made this mosaic in their floor to represent where Jesus would have done the miracle of feeding the five thousand men plus women and children.
When you think of this miracle, you have to understand what Jesus had just experienced. The loss of His family member, His cousin, John the Baptist. Before Jesus heals and multiplies, He is first hit by death and He does what most of us do in a loss, He withdrew from everyone, "to a desolate place by himself." This is so relatable to me. I know when I first experienced loss, all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball somewhere and cry by myself. Even the physical touch of a hug could be too much to handle.
Jesus, however, did not stay by Himself. He came back and in Matthew 14, it tells us that a crowd had gathered together. I am sure they were sadden and some were grieving over the loss of John too. In verse 14, it says, "When He went ashore He saw a great crowd, and He had compassion on them and healed their sick."
And this is what makes Jesus the perfect God/Man. I spent way too much time dwelling on my own feelings to think of anyone else's needs. My kid's needs finally pulled me out and then I could start thinking of other family and friends, but helping strangers in their time of need was not my first go-to.
I love His disciples. They are so pleasantly...human. Lol. I imagine if I were one of them, I would feel pretty awesome to be a close friend of Jesus. I'd be so happy He was helping to heal the people and see their positive life change, but I think, like they did, when I saw it was getting dark, I would assume Jesus had not thought things through. And trying to be a good person, concerned for everyone's needs, I would tell Jesus to send them away to get food before it was too late. In my mind's eye, I can see the concern on the disciples' faces as they maybe felt like they were helping. But Jesus says to them, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat."
At this point, reasoning and logic go out the door. Despite seeing Jesus preform miracle after miracle, panic would set in. I would have said to Jesus, "Me?!? Feed all these people? Are you serious Jesus?" I would probably, literally point out the closest village to Him and tell them they could clearly get there by dark, no problem. "Oh, and also, Jesus, we did ask around but the only thing here is some kid's lunch with two fish and five loaves of bread." I can maybe see myself being a little proud of myself for being on top of everything. But, we know this is not Jesus' style. Nope. He wants those measly fish and loaves of bread.
Matthew 14:18-20, "And He said, Bring them here to me. Then He ordered the crowds to be sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied."
There is SO MUCH here!! First of all, let me just remind you that when you see something that is not enough, or feel like you're not enough, God sees a miracle in the making. How many times to we look at ourselves or our circumstances and situations and think there is no way that something good can come out of it. My pastor reminds us that when we face a Goliath in front of us, it's because God knows there's a David inside of us! We have to remember that if it were up to us, it couldn't happen, but with God, nothing is impossible!!
Secondly, there is blessing in the breaking. Jesus blessed the object of what He was going to break and then He broke it and made a miracle happen. There is blessing in your breaking. You may feel like a mess in need of a healing, but in the Master's hands, you are a mosaic in the making. How often do we pray that God would remove the breaking from our lives when it's in the breaking that makes us bless-able! Don't focus on the breaking, focus on the results of learning and leaning on God through the brokenness. On our own, we can't do it, but with God's help, He can turn anything we give Him into a masterpiece.
Giving yourself over to God's will and trusting Him with whatever He brings into your life is how, to me, we can be beautifully broken. The funny thing is, it's usually when we think we have it all together that being broken is the hardest. I know I try to hold on to whatever control I think I have over my life. We need to realize that we never truly have complete control over anything in life, so why should we fight God when He only wants the best for us?
Being broken is not easy, think of the poor fish and bread that Jesus broke. What a mess it probably made! Fish guts and bread crumbs everywhere! But it's in the brokenness where the miracle happens. It may look different than what you thought it would look it. It sure did in my life. I thought I had God's miracle for my life all figured out. He was going to miraculously heal Greg. How awesome would that be? And we would give Him all the glory and people would learn to trust in God because of it. Now, I'm not saying that God couldn't have done that miracle. But it wasn't the miracle He wanted for anyone. Of course, God ultimately healed Greg in the most holistic of ways, but my healing has been not as easy. It's not easy being the one who is left. I would much rather be the one who goes on the adventure than the one left in the same old place.
My life's mosaic looks completely different from what I thought and certainly from what I wanted. But it's not my mosaic to create. I am not the Master Creator; I am His masterpiece. And I am learning to trust God as He puts the pieces of my life back together, one broken piece at a time. I have learned that there is blessing in the breaking. God has blessed me in SO MANY ways. From finances to friends to family to kids. Each one of us is being fashioned by Him. Will you let Him take your life and break it to bless it? I'm praying for you, friend as you trust in God's craftsmanship to make an artistic mosaic out of the beautifully broken pieces of your life!
I've talked before about how I see my life as a mosaic. How God has taken things in my life that were whole and broke them and is now putting it back together to create a new picture. It still contains remnants of the old, just re-purposed in a different way, with new pieces being added daily.
For the art cover on my podcast, I chose to take a picture of a mosaic bowl Greg and I got while we were in Israel a few years ago. It's a replication of a mosaic found in a catholic church that stands right by the Sea of Galilee called Church of the Multiplication. They made this mosaic in their floor to represent where Jesus would have done the miracle of feeding the five thousand men plus women and children.
Jesus, however, did not stay by Himself. He came back and in Matthew 14, it tells us that a crowd had gathered together. I am sure they were sadden and some were grieving over the loss of John too. In verse 14, it says, "When He went ashore He saw a great crowd, and He had compassion on them and healed their sick."
And this is what makes Jesus the perfect God/Man. I spent way too much time dwelling on my own feelings to think of anyone else's needs. My kid's needs finally pulled me out and then I could start thinking of other family and friends, but helping strangers in their time of need was not my first go-to.
I love His disciples. They are so pleasantly...human. Lol. I imagine if I were one of them, I would feel pretty awesome to be a close friend of Jesus. I'd be so happy He was helping to heal the people and see their positive life change, but I think, like they did, when I saw it was getting dark, I would assume Jesus had not thought things through. And trying to be a good person, concerned for everyone's needs, I would tell Jesus to send them away to get food before it was too late. In my mind's eye, I can see the concern on the disciples' faces as they maybe felt like they were helping. But Jesus says to them, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat."
At this point, reasoning and logic go out the door. Despite seeing Jesus preform miracle after miracle, panic would set in. I would have said to Jesus, "Me?!? Feed all these people? Are you serious Jesus?" I would probably, literally point out the closest village to Him and tell them they could clearly get there by dark, no problem. "Oh, and also, Jesus, we did ask around but the only thing here is some kid's lunch with two fish and five loaves of bread." I can maybe see myself being a little proud of myself for being on top of everything. But, we know this is not Jesus' style. Nope. He wants those measly fish and loaves of bread.
Matthew 14:18-20, "And He said, Bring them here to me. Then He ordered the crowds to be sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied."
Secondly, there is blessing in the breaking. Jesus blessed the object of what He was going to break and then He broke it and made a miracle happen. There is blessing in your breaking. You may feel like a mess in need of a healing, but in the Master's hands, you are a mosaic in the making. How often do we pray that God would remove the breaking from our lives when it's in the breaking that makes us bless-able! Don't focus on the breaking, focus on the results of learning and leaning on God through the brokenness. On our own, we can't do it, but with God's help, He can turn anything we give Him into a masterpiece.
Giving yourself over to God's will and trusting Him with whatever He brings into your life is how, to me, we can be beautifully broken. The funny thing is, it's usually when we think we have it all together that being broken is the hardest. I know I try to hold on to whatever control I think I have over my life. We need to realize that we never truly have complete control over anything in life, so why should we fight God when He only wants the best for us?
Being broken is not easy, think of the poor fish and bread that Jesus broke. What a mess it probably made! Fish guts and bread crumbs everywhere! But it's in the brokenness where the miracle happens. It may look different than what you thought it would look it. It sure did in my life. I thought I had God's miracle for my life all figured out. He was going to miraculously heal Greg. How awesome would that be? And we would give Him all the glory and people would learn to trust in God because of it. Now, I'm not saying that God couldn't have done that miracle. But it wasn't the miracle He wanted for anyone. Of course, God ultimately healed Greg in the most holistic of ways, but my healing has been not as easy. It's not easy being the one who is left. I would much rather be the one who goes on the adventure than the one left in the same old place.
My life's mosaic looks completely different from what I thought and certainly from what I wanted. But it's not my mosaic to create. I am not the Master Creator; I am His masterpiece. And I am learning to trust God as He puts the pieces of my life back together, one broken piece at a time. I have learned that there is blessing in the breaking. God has blessed me in SO MANY ways. From finances to friends to family to kids. Each one of us is being fashioned by Him. Will you let Him take your life and break it to bless it? I'm praying for you, friend as you trust in God's craftsmanship to make an artistic mosaic out of the beautifully broken pieces of your life!
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