Mark 14:3, 6 (NIV) - While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head....“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me."
A while back, I wrote a post about the concept of beauty in brokenness. At the time, I honestly didn't get it. Sometimes I still struggle with it. Since that post, off and on I've been racking my brain trying to find things that are more useful or beautiful when broken.
Some things that are more useful when broken are: eggs, nuts, herbs
Some things that are a beautiful use of broken items: Mosaics, kintsugi pottery, art pieces and countertops made with broken glass, sea glass jewelry.
So what's my point? I still don't believe that Father God relishes in the brokenness of his children (that's child abuse). However, I think that God looks at those broken pieces of my life and like an artist, finds ways to lovingly gather and put them together into something useful and beautiful. Like kintsugi masters, God binds the cracks, chips, and voids in my life together with the strength and beauty of gold; making something more lovely and more valuable than before.
Ok, so I've come this far.
Now, how do I allow these pieces to be reformed into beauty? How do I not sweep these pieces into a dustpan and throw them into the dumpster to never be seen again? How can I, like Jacob/Israel not hide my limp, but instead have an exciting story of meeting God to tell that makes others want to meet Him too?
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In case you missed it:
* Last week's Five Minute Friday post "Pressure" is here.
* This week's Hodgepodge post, "A Penny Saved...is Still a Penny" is here.
*My latest 2021 Flip and Sip Reading Challenge review of The Five Love Languages: Singles Edition is here..
* My latest Auntie's Workshop post "Finishing and Fixing I" is here.
Kintsugi, mosaic, stainglass, collage ... there are so many examples of beauty created from brokenness.
ReplyDeleteThe perfume Mary sought to give,
ReplyDeleteher love and faith's true token,
could only find its use, and live
if the jar was broken.
The only was Paul could be minded
to change his wicked course
was to suddenly be blinded
and thrown down from his horse.
The only way the world could come
from something but a grim dead loss
was for the Lord to give His Son
to be shattered on the Cross.
And in each of these we see the need
that the tree comes from the well-cracked seed.