lessons from brokenness

I have been broken

I am broken still 

I will be broken afresh

Physically:

As a child I fell out of a tree and broke my arm.
I also rode a bike down a steep hillside, fell off the bike resulting in a broken arm thankfully. I say thankfully because that fall kept me from sliding over the edge of a ravine into a deep, rock lined gorge. 
As an adult I have been broken by disease and accidents.

Emotionally and mentally:

I was crushed as a young teenager by an offhand comment from my dad.

Wounded deeply as an adult by "mean girls".

Affected by misunderstandings, disappointments, menopause and loss.

Spiritually:
Before I had a relationship with Christ I did not realize how broken I was.
Years into that relationship, when things were going well, I hit a desert place. 
Not a sweet dessert place. 

No, it was a barren, uncomfortable, arid place. I knew God loved me. 
I knew He was present in my life. But I did not "feel" like there was a fountain of living water available for me to drink from. It lasted about two years.

What have I learned?

though we are all broken
some people are not aware of their brokenness;

 some people try to hide or ignore what they know to be true;

some people are not interested in finding healing;

some people long for things to be different
they are beyond tired of their brokenness
but don't know there is a source for wholeness 

there can be misconceptions about brokenness

some think it renders one hideous and or useless

I have found the opposite to be true

brokenness has an incredible, unmatched worth,

it creates depth and beauty that would not be possible without brokenness
brokenness can leave scars,
and scars are signs of health, not brokenness

God loves broken people

God restores broken people

God uses broken, scarred, scared people

Grace.

God's grace.

Grace is a bridge from brokenness to healing.

choosing to live in His grace allows 

the Light of His love to shine

the balm of His mercy to ooze 

the praises wrought by the realization that we are valuable to flow 

through the chips, cracks and chasms left by brokenness