Broken Pieces

It’s been a while since these fingers could rest upon this keyboard for the sole purpose of joy-filled writing.  Busy with life, raising and educating children, entering the final leg of a 38 year journey [five years to go]…. I take time to breath, step back, and refocus. 

As I peruse through a few of my last blogs, to see where my journaling left off in the path down motherhood, I have to giggle... As I can see, sometimes I make my husband sound like superman, a perfect husband in every way… but the truth is he’s not... Nor am I, for that matter.  In-fact, I've been the furthest from perfect.  However, as I think back through the months, I remember why I blogged those uplifting words to my husband, and for my children.  Because I know that words can either tear down, or build up; and I knew my husband had recently had enough tearing down in his life… and it's specially hurtful is when a man tears down another man.

When a man, or woman, sit in judgment over another they cast judgment upon themselves… tearing down another man will only lead to their own demise.  However, in the path of destruction beautiful pieces of rubble can be uncovered… Colorful pieces… Pieces you haven’t seen in a long time…. You see, when we are forced to examine the crumbled pieces, we can look at the individual, colorful, segmented snippets… We can see where the strength is, and where the weak-points were…. we can start to put broken pieces back together, mend and heal, and become even stronger. 

You see, when this snowman [in the picture] fell off the window-sill, caused by a pout, a slam, and a storm of emotions overflowing…. Weakness breaking…. I was forced to take notice.  It had been quietly resting, un-noticed, for months, so unappreciated.  Seeing it in pieces forced me to look at it more closely, as if to see if the damage was beyond repair.  Never before did I look so closely at the colorful hand-crafted pieces.  Never before did I question its value.   Was it in the brokenness I could clearly see? 

Even though this snowman mishap occurred while my husband was working… It still made me think of him, and myself, and my own broken pieces, and children’s brokenness.  I remember.... it isn’t until we are broken, and weak, that we live through the Lord’s strength. Examining the broken pieces we are able to look more closely at the value…. Our value of ourselves, and the value of others around us.  We all have broken parts within us…. Are we living in our brokenness, with anger? Are we lashing out and breaking others around us in the process?  

Are we looking at the pieces with the hope of renewal and restoration?

My tribute to my husband of 22 years is to help strengthen him… as a helpmate, God asks us to help, and I’m assuming that means help “build,” in our marriage, and not destroy.  I have learned that anytime I am upset or angry at my husband, I need to stop and think of all the positive traits he has.  We ALL have beautiful, wonderful, strengths that God instilled within... Pray that God will help you see the "gifts" around you, and especially in your husband.  Instead of focusing on his negatives, and his weakness, I focus on the good, and on the positive; on the parts that are not broken… The things that God created within him. Sometimes I take a note-book and just start listing those positive things that I remember falling in love with.  It helps me.

We all have our weakness, and as husband and wives we balance one-another out.  He is my up when I am down… I am his free-spirit when he feels oppressed… He is my security when I’m feeling robbed… I remind him of hope when he is fearful…  He makes me smile when I want to cry… Often times we can't see this in each other until the dust settles... and the pieces are uncovered... and then we mend.  When we look to each-other for our  “other-half” and together look to God… We are strengthened.  

We are reminded in Ecclesiastes 4:12 “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”

We are a cord of three strands.... My husband, myself and our Father, God.  I am, just like my husband, a child of God… a creation… formed for a purpose, we are a work in progress. Our earthly fathers have their weakness, but God in His perfect plan created us all for His glory, and purpose... Crafted at the potters hand....  God doesn’t make junk… People are not garbage to be tossed out when they are broken…  Only God can heal and mend the broken pieces…  God placed us together to help one-another through life.  We sort through the broken pieces, glue and mend, trust and build.  We are forever building, growing, changing, molding, withering, replenishing, and repurposing.

My husband often tells me that I am the glue that holds us all together… I tell him that he really is the glue… however, in reality, we both know, God is the glue that holds us together.  Jesus Christ, through His Holy Spirit, heals our broken hearts, helps us to endure, strengthens us, and sets our feet back on solid ground.  My husband and I, both are flawed, imperfect, and broken; God glues us together, piece by piece.   HE is the forever faithful.