Broken. Beautiful.

People talk about broken hearts, shattered dreams, and crumbling hopes. They complain of the pain that comes with it. They mask those imperfections, ashamed to admit their shortcomings. We live in a world that is afraid of people seeing past our façade, we are embarrassed when the cracks show through. So we cover them and pretend they don't exist. And yes, brokenness is painful. But it's also beautiful. 

In Japan, there is a form of pottery called Kintsugi, which means "golden joinery". Its the Japanese art of repairing broken things and bringing them back together with a lacquer mixed with gold or silver. The result is a piece of pottery that is more complex, beautiful, and valuable then the original piece It treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object rather than something to disguise.

In a world where brokenness is something to be hidden, this is a foreign concept. Instead of discarding broken parts, Kintsugi glues shards of something shattered in a way that doesn't just restore value; it adds to it. 

That is grace. That is what God does in our lives. Our brokenness results in an openness to God's grace, He fills in our cracks, brings us back together, and creates a vessel so much more beautiful than we could have imagined. Those cracks are no longer something to disguise, rather they are part of our redemption story, part of who we are. They add value rather than taking it away.

Friends, my life is far from perfect. My world is ugly and tear stained and battle-filled. And like pottery I have lay on the floor, broken; a dull ache spreading through me as I waited for the scattered shards of my heart to become whole again. I have felt like I only deserve to be swept into the trash. Like so many others, I have gone about my day hoping no one notices my cracks. I disguise my pain, ashamed of my need for repair. But there is a Potter who sees me as more than a broken vessel. He sees my shattered heart as an opportunity to pour out love and healing.

When the world smashes us into a million pieces, puts us under pressure until we crumble, and throws us out with the trash, we have hope. God uses our shattered hearts and souls, God loves our broken pieces. He doesn't fix us and then love us, no, He died for us when we were a mess, cracked and scarred by sin. He didn't die for those who are perfect. Perfection has no need for salvation. He died for the broken. He died for me. And when we accept His sacrifice, grace mends us, glues us back together with a heart for Christ. Our brokenness becomes beautiful in His hands. 

This is grace. This is Kintsugi. A word that I didn't know until Friday became part of my identity. My cracks are joined with gold and now they glitter with worth and value.

Being shattered has never been something we were proud of, we've always hidden it for fear of being judged, fear of being tossed away and discarded like shattered pottery. But Someone loved my broken pieces. Someone put me back together and changed my perspective on brokenness so that I will no longer hide it.

I will embrace it.

I am broken.

I am beautiful because of that brokenness.

You choose

There are things in your life you can't control, but it is your job, your duty, your gift, to change what you do have power over. That change comes with a simple choice.

Maybe life dealt you a hard blow. Perhaps things haven't been fair to you recently. When everything is going wrong and everything you love seems to be crumbling away, isn't it ok for you to complain? To be selfish? To cry and scream and sink into despair because of what has happened? Is it even possible to be happy and grateful despite what life throws in your face? In a world where we want control so much, it's frustrating to see people refuse to control simple things that they should be able to. Because I would say that yes, you do have a choice to be happy and grateful and humble no matter what happens. And yet, so many people insist that they simply can't help it if they are in a bad mood. We don't control everything, but what we can control we must. In the face of adversity, you don't have to be sad or selfish or a victim. You can have joy.

You choose your attitude

No matter who you are, I know there are people around you. Friends, enemies, teachers, coworkers, peers, students. We surround ourselves with different groups of people that influence us every day. And maybe you're a busy person, maybe you're not any good at stopping and having a real conversation, but have you ever considered your influence on others? Whether you know it or not, you are impacting people. Those people may be struggling, even more than you are. Those people might wish they could just get a smile or a kind word. Those people may need someone to remind them that they are loved. And despite how busy you are, despite how many of your problems you're occupied with, you can take time for others. You are in a place that you need to be in for a reason. Be you and change the people around you the way you are supposed to.

You choose your influence

You have people around you, but you want something more. A hand to hold, a person to be more than just friends with. It would just be nice if that person liked you back. Maybe it feels like you can't help but be sharp with everyone else because you're nursing a broken heart. No one understands how you're feeling and you just want to be let alone if they won't take the time to solve your problem. So you brush people aside, thinking you deserve to be terse with those around you. And yet...you won't find a solution in being harsh with those already in your life. Seeking after one particular person to the point that you brush others aside will only hurt you later. You can instead choose to be grateful for the people you do have and give your love to them. Despite how you may want to treat those around you, you don't have to push them away. 

You choose how you interact

You're stuck with your family. You didn't ask to be put in the house you are in with the parents and siblings that surround you constantly. You didn't get to choose where you were placed. And at times, they annoy you and anger you to the point that you just don't want to be around them. Maybe you're just ready to stop even trying to be nice to them, maybe you think it would be better if you retaliated. That's not what your reaction should be though. Love is harder than hate. Yet we are commanded to love. When your emotions seem to be getting the best of you, remember God's command to love. He hasn't given us an impossible mission either. It is within your power to react correctly. You cant control who your family is, but love or hate them, its up to you.

You choose your emotions

Ever find yourself wanting a break? Wishing the world would just stop throwing things at you? In those moments it feels like the only solution is to escape, to crawl back in bed and hide from the problems that bother you constantly. Ignoring the work you have to do is easier. Procrastinating is comfortable. But the ability to solve your problems is in your hands. You can act and address the challenges that are facing you. You rarely have power over your circumstances, but you always have power over the way you behave in them.

You choose your actions

Are you a perfectionist? Are your standards for yourself so high that you constantly find yourself "not enough"? Have you been chasing the worlds idea of beauty and fame? It's tempting, I know. We crave approval from people and search for praise. As humans, we simply want to be accepted and so we tend to seek after that whole heartedly, even when it's unhealthy. Doing that makes us slaves to the world, slaves to our own sin. There is good news though. We serve a Master who says we are enough. We are servants of a good and perfect King who loves us unconditionally. But we can't serve Him and the world. The world's ideas of perfection, fame, money, beauty, and success will call to us and try to draw us away from God. We can't stop that. We don't have power to make the world stop tempting us. There is a choice that we do have though. You can't serve two masters, so will you follow God or the world? Will you chase after the acceptance that you will never get enough of, or serve the Lord who already accepted you for who you are?

You choose your master

They hurt you. They let you down. Your trust and your heart are broken. You tell yourself that this is why you don't trust people, why you don't let them in, why you don't even show them any favor to begin with. Who cares if they apologized, forgiveness won't happen. How can it? How could anyone forgive someone that horrible? And moving on from it? Forget it. This hurt enough that you're sure you can never get passed it. Trust me, I understand that point of view. I know what it's like to hold on to injuries, to cling to my anger, and refuse forgiveness. I've felt the sting of a broken heart. I've suffered from my trust being broken. People have hurt me. But responding incorrectly only hurts worse. It may seem like you can't forgive, like this person doesn't deserve it. But you know what? We don't deserve it either. And yet forgiveness was freely given to us. None of our wrongs are counted against us because our sins are forgotten by God in light of Christ's sacrifice. So who are you to refuse forgiveness from someone who hurt you? If God, who is completely just and holy, forgave us, we can and must forgive. Your anger will only weigh you down and become a chain around your neck. It is for freedom that Christ set us free, so be free by returning evil with good and forgiving those who let you down. Yes, you were hurt, but yes, there is hope.

You choose your response

You have power over certain things, how will you choose to use it?

Being free

On July 4th every year Americans gather together all over the US to celebrate Independence Day. A day when we acknowledge our split with Britain by blowing stuff up and partying. We choose to lay aside our disagreements and forget our nation’s imperfections for the sake of a concept: freedom.

We recognize that the value of our freedom supersedes everything else our nation has to offer. The burden of a tyrannical government is an evil that we don't have to bear because long ago blood was spilled to throw them off our backs. American's know that freedom is worth fighting and dying for and that our liberty is the most important thing we have.

There is another kind of freedom that is also worth dying for. So valuable was this freedom that God sent His own perfect Son to die for it. This is a freedom that we often don't recognize. A liberty from enslavement that we tend to forget, or even, reject. The burden of sin is an evil that we don't have to bear because long ago blood was spilled that removed it from us and laid it on the shoulders of a King. Yet, so often, we trudge through life under the tyrannical rule of our sin.

 We have the ultimate freedom, a freedom that was bought with the ultimate sacrifice.

The Bible tells us that, "Rain falls on the just and the unjust" and we know that everyone goes through hard times. And yet Jesus says that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. I used to wonder how that was possible. The apostle Paul definitely didn't seem to have an easy burden and I read stories of other missionaries who also suffered and died for the sake of the Gospel. If Christians went through so much for their faith, how could it be that His yoke is easy? What kind of freedom was that?

The burden of your sin and it's consequences is greater than anything Christ asks us to bear. Life is going to be hard, and if you accept Christ as your Savior it may get even harder. But because of the freedom we have from sin and the destruction that it leads to, our burden will be light. Not only that, He supplies us with the strength we need to continue in Him. When we take Christ’s burden upon us, He begins leading us away from the destructive path of sin and toward deepened peace and unexplainable joy. His power is made perfect in our weakness and it is in Him that we can find the courage to continue. 

We have the freedom to be completely honest about who we are and the mistakes we make because we know that He has forgiven us and calls us His. We have the freedom to know that we are loved no matter what, because Jesus Christ died for us. We have the freedom to beg forgiveness and nail our sins to the cross, because if we confess our sins and repent we are guaranteed forgiveness. We have the freedom to rejoice always because we know that He gives us the strength to do all things. We have the freedom to experience peace in the middle of great trials because our God is the God of peace and promises to never leave us or forsake us. We have the freedom to persevere, love in spite of pain, encourage others, and hope when life seems hopeless because we know that one day every tear will be wiped away. 

Without that freedom, nothing matters. With it, nothing else has to.

This freedom is given to everyone who repents and believes in the sacrifice Jesus Christ.

I know what enslavement to sin feels like. I know the weight of sin, of anger, of guilt, of disobedience and how those things can pressure you until it feels like you cant breathe. And I know that there is a peace that surpasses all understanding that encompasses you the moment you let go of your sin and accept the freedom Christ offers. Throw off your chains and celebrate your freedom in Christ.

Being careful

You don't know how many times in the last few months I've been told to be careful. It's been drilled into my head so much, it's become the theme of every situation I'm in. That's probably relatable to most teenagers. Be careful who you hang out with, be careful who you go eat with, be careful how you spend your time, be careful about what classes you take, be careful with how you spend your money, be careful with what message you're sending people and what words you say, be careful, be careful, be careful. It sounds annoying sometimes, such a far cry from the narrative the world gives us. Society tells us to be wild, free, rebellious. Do whatever we want with whoever we want whenever we want. Compared to that, being careful doesn't sound so bad. And it's not....

.....But is there a danger to being too careful?