I learned something new the other day, and it helped process and mend some things that were in my heart. In all honesty I learned about it in September, but its taken this long to settle my soul and write. It is called Kintsugi or "golden joinery", it is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with powdered gold , silver , or platinum. The philosophy behind it is that it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.
This was so profound to me when I heard about it, and even my friend explaining it to me said that it is what God does for us. How true that is, and how much we need to hear it. See, in my struggles I have wanted to give up. Literally and figurately, in any way possible. I was done, over it, and drained. I wanted to start fresh. I wanted a new piece of pottery, because quick frankly repairing something takes time, and energy. It's work. It's much easier to buy something new and start over. But guess what I'm learning. We are way too valuable to be thrown away and start over. We are a treasure to our Lord that He values, and cherished in a way we can't even begin to comprehend. We look at our brokenness and feel regret. We try to repair it with failure and shame. Guess what, that glue doesn't stick. It won't hold, and it's not from the Lord.
Another reason I believe the Lord does this is to help one another. While we are so busy hiding our scars, The Lord Almighty is coating them in Gold! He is making them more pronounced so we can help others.
Yes, cracking is painful. I'll be the first to tell you, it is the most heart wrenching, guttural ache you will ever feel. But once the fog lifts, (and it does I promise), you can see His repair job glimmering in the light. So please remember dear friends, you may be cracked right now, but you are never too broken.
This was so profound to me when I heard about it, and even my friend explaining it to me said that it is what God does for us. How true that is, and how much we need to hear it. See, in my struggles I have wanted to give up. Literally and figurately, in any way possible. I was done, over it, and drained. I wanted to start fresh. I wanted a new piece of pottery, because quick frankly repairing something takes time, and energy. It's work. It's much easier to buy something new and start over. But guess what I'm learning. We are way too valuable to be thrown away and start over. We are a treasure to our Lord that He values, and cherished in a way we can't even begin to comprehend. We look at our brokenness and feel regret. We try to repair it with failure and shame. Guess what, that glue doesn't stick. It won't hold, and it's not from the Lord.
Another reason I believe the Lord does this is to help one another. While we are so busy hiding our scars, The Lord Almighty is coating them in Gold! He is making them more pronounced so we can help others.
Yes, cracking is painful. I'll be the first to tell you, it is the most heart wrenching, guttural ache you will ever feel. But once the fog lifts, (and it does I promise), you can see His repair job glimmering in the light. So please remember dear friends, you may be cracked right now, but you are never too broken.
