Isaiah 41:10
"So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
A reminder for us that this life is going to bring us moments, seasons, perhaps lifetimes of hardships. But God tells us right here, before they even happen, before we were alive, that he will strengthen us, that He will hold us up with his mighty right hand.
I saw this verse afresh about 4 years ago when my niece Molly posted it on my LHH site. Having a then 25 year old, who KNEW what this verse meant in real life, 'give' it to me left me breathless and so proud of her for helping me, for getting into the mess with me.
I see these broken pieces of ceramic and I see the love and friendship that went into breaking them. Yes, love and friendship. They were broken last April, in the back of the church parking lot by me, and Angel, and Lucy. (Code names being used) Angel opened the back of her van and it was quite full of plates and bowls. We hesitated for a bit-kinda laughing because we were actually following thru on doing this, on breaking plates because I was breaking inside.
So, I went first, jumping up to give more power to the actual smashing throw of the plate. Then they went. And we took turns until all of our plates and bowls were broken.
One thing didn't change. I was still broken. They were still heart broken. So were you.
While I was undergoing treatment again, they were working on placing the pieces of the broken ceramics into frames. Several mosaics, words of meaning, signs of everlasting hope.
Broken is what our lives are about. It's just the things that break each one of us that are different. It's the timing that is different. It's the way we cope that is different. If we are to believe what God says here, then maybe the way we cope shouldn't be so different. Maybe if we didn't take so much time trying to figure out an answer and just submitted our hearts, our trust, our lives to the Great Hope; if we would just let Him hold us in His mighty right hand; maybe then coping would not be such a mystery.
Broken is how we get to God. Something broke us to get us to become believers, to become born again. I know what mine was, and it has nothing to do with sickness! In the dark and broken places, when we are alone with our thoughts and our open hearts, God performs the life saving surgery we need- salvation stitches holding us together.
Broken is the only way we can put the pieces back into some sort of frame that makes us feel whole again. What is kinda cool is that the brokenness can transform us into understanding and living a life full of things we never understood before. It makes us more aware, more understanding and perhaps more understood.
Life is supposed to break us. God is supposed to put us back together. Maybe he has a special art institute up in Heaven that displays all the mosaics of each of our lives. Then, when we finally get to meet him face to face, the mosaics disappear because we are truly whole.
Here's to our broken lives that lead us to the path of complete wholeness. Thank God we are not alone. We have each other and we have Him.
John 16:33
In this world you will have trouble, but be brave; I have defeated the world.
Much Love,
Vicki
Much Love,
Vicki
