Beautiful Imperfection

For several months now, and for reasons unknown to me, all things broken have been on my heart. It started in January with a broken cookie jar that belonged to my grandmother and it continues today.... It intrigues me. Multiple x-rays could not capture the image of my hand that was fractured in two places. All the kings horses and all the kings men, could not put my broken Nissan Cube back together, forcing me to buy another car. This week I bought a decorative jar for a friend's birthday. The jar reminded me of the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus while he dined at the home of a Pharisee. The Bible doesn't specify the disciples were present, but in my mind I can see them huddled together with horrified expressions as this woman of questionable background not only washed his feet, but did so with costly perfume. The Pharisee himself (as all Pharisees do) questioned the judgment of  Jesus for allowing this broken one to touch him in such an intimate way. It seems that everyone involved, with the exception of Jesus and the woman, failed to understand how intimately important her act of humble worship really was. My catnap at lunch was a mosaic dream of broken pottery, broken glass, broken mirrors, and broken people.  Why do I find beauty in the imperfect? Probably because my own brokenness constantly bubbles beneath the surface of my quirky self. I never have to look farther than my own imperfections to be reminded that Christ died for one such as I. 

Broken

There are two types of people in the world…. Broken people, and broken people who don’t recognize their brokenness. Those who walk in Christ should know they are broke, after all Christ died for it. What I fear is, many Christians believe they have moved beyond their brokenness. I spoke with a friend about being broken. We talked about how easily it is to look around and allow our insecurities to tell us we just don’t measure up. The enemy is quick to use others to re-enforce those negative thoughts until we feel defeated. I had a close friend a few years ago who said to me…. “I don’t even know if you are saved!”   I didn’t measure up to their level of spirituality. If you are at a low point in your life, that is not the kind of encouragement you need. News flash!!! God uses broken people. In fact, I’m not sure you can be used by God until you are broken. Looking back on the life of Paul, God did not use him until he had been broken. Ironically, Paul’s brokenness came in the form of blindness. Before his physical blindness on the road to Damascus, Paul was spiritually blind. I don’t think that is a coincidence. I encouraged my friend, not to buy into the lie that everyone has it more together than they do. Sometimes the more someone “appears” to have it all together, the more broken they are. Some are better at hiding their brokenness than others. They feel more spiritual in a cloak of wholeness than they do in their brokenness… I used to feel the same way. These days I’m very honest about my brokenness. It is a constant reminder of God’s mercy and grace. It gives me compassion for others and keeps me from puffing out my chest in judgement and self-righteousness.  At the foot of the cross, the ground is even and we are all broken. His blood ran down the cross to cover our brokenness and our imperfections. When he looks at us all he sees is his refection, not ours and that is good news.