Broken

I opened the box and there lay hundreds of little pieces. My mouth fell open, I couldn't believe it. It was a Lladro porcelain dove that my grandmother gave me. It was broken and gluing it back together wasn't an option. My daughter had a doll that broke and we tried fixing it only to have it break again later. My son nearly broke his ankle while sliding down a pole way too fast. The doctor explained, "it would have been better for him to have broken his ankle, a sprain is often worse!"

"Broken," is often full of negative connotations. We see broken objects and we grunt in agitation. We instinctively want to fix or replace them. I once cleaned a house for an elderly woman and she warned me to use extreme caution when dusting underneath her expensive collectibles. I chose to skip that area. I was terrified I'd break one. Have you ever noticed a mother (no names mentioned) guiding her child away from something? "Careful," she says, "you'll break a bone!"

Laws are broken. Covenants are broken. Commitments are broken. Sometimes things we hold dear are broken, like collectibles and toys. Often times we learn from these breaks. Lastly, hearts are broken, spirits are broken and yes, we too are broken. These things should not be broken. To be a broken person however, can often have beautiful results; humility, healing, repentance and a sense of what really matters in this life. God often replaces that which is broken with something extraordinary...Himself!

Over time my daughter has learned to be gentle with her dolls. They can't always be fixed. My son has learned to take his time when sliding down a pole. It could result in a two week limp. And me? Well, hopefully being broken in spirit isn't such a bad place to be.

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." Psalm 51:17

He carries our sorrows (better Him than me). He heals the brokenhearted and we are made new. Those that are dismayed He upholds with His right hand. 

The hand of God, what better place to be?