Have you ever been moved by someone’s care and kindness? This past weekend I introduced my friend to one of the pastors of our church. The pastor offered to pray for my friend and her family, a family that he didn’t know, and I was incredibly touched by how much love and care he had for people that he didn’t know.
I had no idea at the time, that in just a few days I would be overwhelmed by the love and care that the God that formed me, has for me.
“The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ‘Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the Lord came to me: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.'” ~ Jeremiah 18: 1-6
I am getting to the end, or beginning, of a pretty big transitional time in my life. Some weeks I am flying on faith, but I was pretty overwhelmed with fear, insecurities, and doubts last week. I think the loudest of those emotions was the fear. The fear of rejection and that as I stepped out in faith, something would happen to knock me off my feet. Fear of fully trusting that He could mend and protect my fragile heart. Fear of failure.
Beautifully Broken
I bought a pitcher with the intention of breaking it. It took me quite a while to find the perfect one. It couldn’t be any pitcher, it had to be beautiful.
I went onto the back patio and wondered how hard I had to drop it on the cement for it to break. I ended up just dropping it, and it shattered to pieces. It was surprising how easily it shattered, how fragile it was.
Ever feel that way about your heart? At how easy it is for it to be bruised and broken with fear, insecurities, and doubts?
As I was putting the pitcher back together, God’s love overwhelmed me in a new way. I used a strong glue mix that turned hot as it was blended together. Sometimes, the pieces of the pitcher went back together easily (like the bigger pieces), and sometimes I have to hold the pieces together until the glue held strong. The smaller pieces, like the pieces that directly hit the cement were harder to put back together. It was more difficult to find where it fit, and it was harder to get the glue to hold the pieces together. But time and care, the pitcher was mended. It wasn’t perfect but when I put a lit candle in it, the light beamed through the brokenness. It was beautiful.
In the hours it took me to put the pitcher back together, I was overcome with the care and attention to detail that it took to restore the broken pieces. I was also overcome with that awareness of how that is how God tends to our bruised and broken hearts. He will gently pieces that shattered pieces back together. Carefully, as not to break it more. Lovingly, so His strength will triumph over our weakness. Gentle, so we can reach out with our hearts in our hands and say to Him Here is my heart, I trust that you can mend it and keep it safe.
Wholly Loved
When I write this, I haven’t told my husband about the pitcher yet. I want to put it on top of the cabinet that holds our wine glasses, but because of its brokenness I don’t even want to ask him if I can put it there. But I have to remember that if it wasn’t broken, the light wouldn’t shine through.
“Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.’ A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’ Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” ~ John 20: 24-29
When Jesus appears to Thomas, he didn’t hide His scars. He did the opposite actually, as Thomas approached him honestly with doubt. He offered for doubting Thomas to reach out and touch where He had been broken and bruised. It is like Jesus is saying to Thomas See, I am alive. My scars didn’t keep me in the grave. Stop doubting and believe.
3 Ways To Mend Your Broken Heart
I want to leave you with a few ways to help mend the bruised and broken heart:
1.) Go get a pitcher, break it, and mold it back together. As you do this, reflect on your fears, insecurities and doubts, but most of all on the God who carefully holds your heart and mends it back together.
2.) Be honest with God about the fears, insecurities, and doubts. Bring them to Him, like a little girl approaching her good Father.
3.) Ask God to reveal His love to you. He is willing to give it, lavish it actually, to you. But you must be willing to receive it as well.
Broken But Loved
Beautiful one, let’s be broken so that His light can shine through, and so we can share that He is alive and that His scars didn’t keep Him in the grave.
I would love to hear in what ways God surprised you lately with revealing how He loves you?
Books For Related Reading
Jessica has a deep love for Christ and a desire to follow where He may lead. She is a writer who desires for women to know that they are loved by a beautiful Creator, and in hopes to encourage women in their walks with Christ, she began blogging on her site The Path I Follow. Jessica currently lives in Norwalk, CT with her husband Mike, and two children, Charlie and Olivia. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, walks at the beach, helping with women’s ministry at her church, and relaxing on her parent’s boat. You can learn more about Jessica and read her weekly blog posts by visiting her website or Facebook page.
- Jessica Schneiderhttps://candidlychristian.com/author/jschneider/
- Jessica Schneiderhttps://candidlychristian.com/author/jschneider/
- Jessica Schneiderhttps://candidlychristian.com/author/jschneider/
- Jessica Schneiderhttps://candidlychristian.com/author/jschneider/
14 Comments
What a beautiful reminder of how our lives can sometimes feel broken. We can feel so fragile and without God’s love to catch us and put us back together again, we can many times stay broken. Thank you, Jessica.
Debbie Erickson recently posted…Hurting Hearts Need a Light
You’re welcome. Thanks for reading 🙂
Jessica Schneider recently posted…18 Months
“I was overcome with the care and attention to detail that it took to restore the broken pieces. I was also overcome with that awareness of how that is how God tends to our bruised and broken hearts.” Beautiful! What a great tangible activity that helps us to picture what Christ does to mend our hearts!
Susan Evans recently posted…How to Decorate a Hat
I didn’t realize exaclty how tangible it would be until I did it 🙂
Jessica Schneider recently posted…18 Months
I did this with a small piece of pottery as well…a DIY Kintsugi project if you will. And I too, was overwhelmed by the thought of God creating something beautiful from our brokenness. With Kintsugi, the artist highlights the break rather than tries to hide it…and that’s what God does, He highlights His goodness and His grace in the seams of our brokenness. Thank you for sharing!
Jenny Gericke recently posted…How to Fix Paint Bleed to get a Perfect Striped Wall
Okay, I had no idea what Kintsugi was until people started mentioning it here. I love that “He highlights His goodness and His grace in the seams of our brokenness”
Jessica Schneider recently posted…18 Months
Love this! It totally reminds me of Kintsugi. You correlated this all so beautifully.
MJ recently posted…5 Reasons Long Distance Relationships are Worth it
Thank you. I had no idea what Kintsugi was. I had to look it up. 🙂
Jessica Schneider recently posted…18 Months
What a neat and beautiful object lesson of God’s love for us! I’m sure the pitcher turned out lovely!
Melissa recently posted…The Armor of God: The Sword of the Spirit
I wish I could upload the picture of it for you! Light beamed through.
Jessica Schneider recently posted…18 Months
Putting a broken pitcher back together is a beautiful reminder of what God does for us! Thank you for the encouragement.
This is so absolutely beautiful. I’m going to do this one day. I just imagine a soft light glowing through the cracks, carrying a hint of the bordering color as it bounces off the wall. As I imagine the light bringing life into an empty kitchen on a cloudy day, I hear God whisper “this is how I see you”. He is so loving.
This was so good I hardly have words.. I feel like a broken pot slowly slowly being put back together and even touching the shredded pieces hurts… thank you.. gonna study about Kintsugi
Stephanie Carter recently posted……Behold, I Do A New Thing
Your words touched my heart in a special way. I’m going to do this because my heart has been mourning a loss in my life and I think this will be very therapeutic for my soul and become a great remembrance piece. God knows my heart has been broken and I want the light to shine again.
Sheila Rhodes recently posted…How to Trust God While You Wait
Remember: From our side of the computer screen, we can’t see your tears. We can’t see your beautiful smile. We can’t hear the emotion behind your words or the tone of your voice. All we get are your words. Write them with love.