My last post was called A Jumbled Mess or Something Beautiful. It was about my life. The daily occurences, the jumbled mess that I pray God makes into something beautiful. Lately God has been showing me such beauty!
Oh His glorious, bountiful, amazing beauty! I follow a blog called WavyBel. It is heartbreaking, gut-wrenching and tear inducing. This woman has had her whole world turned upside down and she still praises God. It's so AMAZING! It's so easy to see the broken in this world we live in. To look around and see chaos. Broken hearts, broken homes, broken lives. So today, I choose beauty. Beauty in the broken. This blog, WavyBel, one day she posted about her AND. That no matter what, no matter the situation she always, always, always has an &. In Christ we have an AND. We can have sorrow & joy. Chaos & peace. For just a minute I want to think about the ANDs in my life (and those dear to me).
I have a friend who is in the midst of some horrible health issues. Some days it's hard for her to walk. Some days she just has to sit and cry because she's so young, has young babies and just wants to be well. Some days she is broken. AND. And she is beautiful. Because she cries out to God, seeks His will, loves Him fervently and tackles these challenges head on. Some days are hard, so very hard, but she presses on.
I have a friend who is in the process of adopting. It's hard, it's frustrating, it's expensive. She and her husband have open hearts and an open home and empty hands. Some days she is broken. AND. And she is beautiful. She has poured her heart out to God, praying for her hands to be full of squishy baby. The process continues AND she has faith that one day, very soon, they'll have a baby to love on.
Some of my church family just returned from Nicaraugua. They're posting pictures like crazy. Brokenness. Homes with plastic sheeting. Toy cars made from soda bottles. Dirty little faces. AND. And they are beautiful. Homes were built. Lives were changed. The Spirit of God was all over the people in that small village.
I have a husband whose grandmother just passed away. He barely knew this woman and realized that his heart was full of bitterness he never knew was there. He is a man who is broken. AND. And he is beautiful because he recognized his weakness and sought prayer. He is seeking God's direction. Beauty.
We work with teenagers at our church. They are broken. Broken. Some speak openly of their brokenness. Some live in a private hell they don't talk about. Some don't even know they're broken. But we see it. AND. And they are SO beautiful. When they cry out to God and completely surrender to Him, His leading, I can't even tell you how beautiful that is. When they just start to think they might need Someone else, so beautiful. When they finally say something in group, beautiful. When they take communion together on a Wednesday night. Beauty!
I have a marriage that was broken. When I say broken, I mean broken, broken. We were on the brink of divorce. AND. And our marriage was made beautiful. God has redeemed us and through Him, our marriage has been saved.
I am broken. I am a sinner. I struggle with sin. Often. AND. And I am beautiful. I am covered by the blood of the Lamb. Jesus has made me whole. I desire to be in fellowship with Him. Oh that others would see the Beauty in the Broken.
