God Loves To Repair Broken Pieces
I have a statement in a few of my bios about how I like kaleidoscopes because I feel like they represent how God sees His creations; they are all beautiful when light, especially God’s Light, shines through them. God is the Master of repairing broken things, and He’s uniquely able to repair broken hearts like no one else can.
The image I made tonight is a representation of a Japanese art form called “Kintsugi.” The article on Wikipedia doesn’t have a lot of images, so do a search to see some amazing transformations, but the link with the word goes to Japan Daily, so it’s got history and images. It’s a Japanese art form of repair done with real gold showing through the cracks and making the restored object more valuable than the original when it was unbroken.
Now, imagine something with even more value than gold (God’s touch) filling the broken places in human hearts and what the value becomes with God’s Holy Spirit making us whole. This clip from the movie Joshua with Tony Goldwyn demonstrates it beautifully and still makes me cry.
If you haven’t seen the movie, it’s old but I highly recommend it. And on the subject of recommendations, I also recommend a wonderful story about a broken woman and her battle to repair herself before letting God do the mending. It’s in the book “The Story of With” by Allen Arnold. The tag line might make you think it’s only a book for creative people, but it’s an amazing and life-changing story that combines a Bible study with a fictional allegory. My sister, who’s not much of a reader, finished it in 2 days and said every Christian should read it. My affiliate link (for tracking) is https://amzn.to/4agQfqu and I’d love to hear comments from those who read it. Also, here’s a video review from someone who read it…
And, finally, just because it sums up the story of someone who loves to see brokenness repaired, here’s a video of Guy Penrod singing The Talley’s song, “She Loves the Broken Ones”…
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It Can Be A Wonderful Life
Still from It’s A Wonderful Life by Flickr User Insomnia Cured Here, CC License = Attribution, Share Alike
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original image and to access the user’s full photo stream at Flickr.
I spent this evening in a dinner theater with friends. We watched a well-performed musical version of It’s a Wonderful Life, which is always a nice reminder of rethinking our perspectives at this time of year. I am always brought to tears when George learns just how much people will be there for him after all he has given up in being there for them through the years.
The thing I notice about the story is that George Bailey is extremely generous with his time and money, but he’s a bit stingy with his emotions. He gives in the same way Jonah ministered to the people of Nineveh (yesterday’s post)–grudgingly. He has so many dreams he wants to carry out, and every time he thinks he’s on his way to one or the other, some tragedy strikes or something comes up to change his plans. An abundance of these events with George “giving in” to whatever call is on his life leads him to feeling suicidal.
What changes for George in the end to give him more hope? Nothing externally. His attitude changes before he finds out that his friends and neighbors are ready to be there for him and meet his needs the way he’s always done for them. His grudging giving was still giving, so it didn’t hurt his relationships in the long run, but he likely missed out on some joy through the years. A stack of days without joy can certainly lead to the dark day where George meets the angel named Clarence. (Who, by the way, gets his wings when the bell in the above image rings.)
Attitude makes all the difference in the world. As said by Charles Swindoll, “Life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it.” (Click the word “attitude” to see the whole message in context.) How we respond to difficulties in life does not change how difficult they are to us, but it changes how much damage they’ll be allowed to do to our spirits. We’re not guaranteed happiness, but joy is a fruit of the Spirit of God, so circumstances can’t take it away. God’s spirit of joy is there to strengthen us to face our difficulties if we will let it.
Chip Brogden brings up a good point in today’s Infinite Supply newsletter when he points out that God sees every sparrow that falls, but He doesn’t stop them from falling. He may not take the difficulties or storms away from us, but He Himself will be our very present help in times of trouble; a shelter during our stormy times. As a matter of fact, here’s how King David spoke of God’s sheltering Spirit in Psalm 61:3-4 (NKJV)…
For You have been a shelter for me,
A strong tower from the enemy.
I will abide in Your tabernacle forever;
I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah
If we respond with an attitude of expectation for that help, comfort, and shelter, we will find the strength of God’s joy right when we need it. Then, no matter what happens to us, it can be a wonderful life.
P.S. If you click the movie title above, it will take you to a special on the DVD set. As of this writing, it’s $7.99 instead of $24.99 for the two-disc set that includes both black & white and color plus some bonus features.
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