We live in a “throw it away” society. Too often, our initial response is to throw away the damaged or broken things in our lives.
Broken toy? Throw it away.
Torn shirt? Throw it away.
Broken pottery? Throw it away.
We’ve all been guilty of being quick to throw things away at some point in our lives. It’s easy to throw away items that are broken. Repairing the damage requires more effort. Earlier generations, such as those raised during the Depression, weren’t so quick to throw things away. People didn’t have the “luxury” of easily replacing broken items, so they put forth the effort to repair what was broken.
Unfortunately, our “throw it away” response doesn’t end with things.
Broken relationship? Throw it away.
Broken person? Throw him or her away.
In our “throw it away” response to broken relationships and people, we end up with more people being broken. When a broken relationship is thrown away through divorce, the children can end up being broken (and taught to throw away their own broken relationships). I am not advocating for people to stay in abusive relationships. People need to be safe. However, in the absence of abuse, I think it’s important to not be so quick to toss the relationship under the bus.
When you see someone who has been fractured by life’s circumstances, addiction, or mental illness … how do you respond? If you see a homeless person, dirty & hungry … do you ignore their needs? If a guy is walking down the street, talking to himself … do you cross to the other side of the street? If you see a girl with scars on her, do you look away? Or … do you engage with the person? Do you look for the beauty in the brokenness?
There is an ancient Japanese technique called, Kintsugi, used to repair broken pottery. According to Wikipedia, Kintsugi means “to repair with gold”. It “is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum … and it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.”
Items repaired in this manner are frequently considered to be more valuable than if the item had not been broken in the first place. The art of Kintsugi requires time and effort to repair the broken pottery. However, the item is made more beautiful for having been broken and repaired.
Similarly, brokenness in people can be beautiful and valuable. It’s not quick or easy for broken people to be repaired. It takes time, effort, and a willingness on the part of the individual to be open to the repairs. We have to give God all of the broken pieces, but He can mend the brokenness. People can still see the fracture lines, but those fracture lines show the beauty of the person and the wonderful Glory of God the Creator and Healer.
It’s scary to show others where we are broken … not knowing how they will judge us. Wondering … will they take the time to see the beauty in the mended fractures? Will they pretend we don’t exist? Will they spread rumors or lies about us? However, we are all broken in one way or another. It is by sharing our brokenness that we can truly connect and see the beauty that God has placed in each of us. As Francesca Battistelli sings in “If We’re Honest” …
Truth is harder than a lie
The dark seems safer than the light
And everyone has a heart that loves to hide
I’m a mess and so are you
We’ve built walls nobody can get through
Yeah, it may be hard, but the best thing we could ever do, ever do
Bring your brokenness, and I’ll bring mine
‘Cause love can heal what hurt divides
And mercy’s waiting on the other side
If we’re honest
If we’re honest
Don’t pretend to be something that you’re not
Living life afraid of getting caught
There is freedom found when we lay
our secrets down at the cross, at the cross
Bring your brokenness, and I’ll bring mine
‘Cause love can heal what hurt divides
And mercy’s waiting on the other side
If we’re honest
If we’re honest
It would change our lives
It would set us free
It’s what we need to be
Bring your brokenness, and I’ll bring mine
‘Cause love can heal what hurt divides
And mercy’s waiting on the other side
If we’re honest
If we’re honest
So … let’s not throw away broken people, whether that be someone else or ourselves. Take the risk to show our brokenness to each other and release the broken pieces to God for Him to mend into something even more beautiful.
victoriouslybroken 
Beautiful!
LikeLike
Thank you very much!
LikeLike
Good words. I was introduced to the concept of Kintsugi and Wabi (the philosophy/artistic concept behind it) several years ago. Yet just a few weeks ago a new related thought occurred to me. God has been dealing with “control” issues in my life and I suddenly realized one day that while I know, understand and mentally assent to the idea of my brokenness and God’s ability to bring beauty (and use and His glory) out of it, I somehow still want to control *how* I am broken and somehow think *I* am responsible for making sure the brokenness is useful or the gold lacquer is appropriate placed and beautiful. But my responsibility is to be open to the Maker and conform to His faithful (and much more wise) hands…
LikeLike
Thank you for your comments. I think, in general, people try to control how they are broken or repaired/useful. You’re definitely not alone in that tendency. It’s a moment by moment choice to leave it to God.
LikeLike