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.