GRACE ANCHORED JOURNEY

I was fascinated by the Japanese art called kintsugi, an old art of fixing broken pottery using dusted gold, silver, or platinum. This emphasizes the fractures and breaks rather than hiding and disguising them. People even say that repaired pottery becomes more beautiful than the original, giving it a new life and a new form.

I could not help but relate it to our experience of brokenness. Often times, we think that brokenness is ugly that we want to hide and keep it away from the eyes of others. We are manipulated to believe that when we are broken, nothing good will come out of it. Yet this is not the case in the Lord.

This Japanese work of art teaches that as Christians, our brokenness is not a waste. Instead, if we are willing to surrender it to Him who is able to fix, it can be a way for us to be better crafted carefully and beautifully by our Maker.

It taught me that no matter how seemingly useless and messy we are, if we are willing to be repaired by the potter, we can still be fixed. In God’s sight, we won’t be a trash that’s ready to be thrown away. Of course, going through brokenness is hard. There’s unbearable pain that sometimes, no one can understand. There is this feeling of shame and self-pity.

Yet if we truly understand that there’s a purpose out of that, then we will trust that God is able to heal and fix our wounded heart. In the end, this brokenness will not leave us discouraged and disappointed. Rather, we will feel proud and confident in the way that our Master mends our broken pieces and diligently connects each shattered part so we can be whole again. And I really love this idea. It proves how He loves us regardless of our situation.

To add more, like how Japanese people perceive this kind of art, we can also become a wonderful piece of art through God’s healing and restoration. We may think of ourselves as nothing and worthless as we feel this brokenness inside. But like the idea of kintsugi, our brokenness is different in God’s perspective. When we feel that we are already useless and that we are insignificant, God views it the other way. I believe that when we are broken, God joyfully takes us and begins to make a unique art out of us.

Those times that I felt so broken inside are the exact moments where I became so close to God. And those were the moments when I needed to submit my will to God because I knew, in my own strength, I could not do anything. He wants us to be close to Him. He delights when we forget ourselves and find our beauty in Him. We are ugly and broken but He is able to create a new work of art in us.

If you think that you can no longer be fixed, I guess you are wrong.We are not beyond repair in Him who created us in the first place. Our brokenness might be a tap on our back because we have been walking the wrong way. Perhaps, it is a gentle reminder that we are not alone in this journey. The Scripture tells us that He will never leave nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Feeling of being alone and useless is a lie from the enemy because His Word tells us that He is near to the  brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit (Psalms 34:18). When we are broken, there is a great invitation to find healing in His secret place.

Looking at this Japanese art makes me grateful because like these broken potteries, if we lay our brokenness at the feet of Jesus, we can be more valuable once we let Him work in our life. Isn’t it amazing that they use the most expensive material to fix those broken potteries?

That’s how He will mend us. He will carefully put those broken pieces together with love. Like this valuable gold, we will be more valuable to Him who crafted and made us a unique work of art.

When we finally recognize and appreciate this work of art, we will see the value of our brokenness in light with Him. That we are worthy because He made us worthy.

There’s indeed beauty beyond brokenness. Don’t be afraid to go through it. Instead, we pray and lay it before God – the One who is able to make beautiful things out of our messy and broken lives.