So today is supposed to be a post on weight loss and nutrition....but I'm not feeling it. So I am re-posting a blog I wrote several years ago, in late October 2011, when a dear friend was dealing with a crisis in her family. Recently I talked with another precious friend whose world has shattered too. When I wrote this post the topic on my heart was very different then the topic on my heart today, but the shattered life that results is the same. I read in my quiet time this morning: Psalm 34:18
"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit."
This is my prayer for my sweet friend that the Lord would be near and that she would know that nearness in a a new and precious way.
Shattered (slightly adapted from first posting)
When something is shattered it is broken in
many pieces. It makes a mess. It hurts others close by. The immediate
tendency is to grab a broom and sweep up the mess and hide it or mask it. What was
once a beautiful work of art is now a mess shattered on the ground. However all
does not have to be lost. What if someone takes the time to pick up every piece
and carefully, patiently, tenderly puts it back together? Guess what....Christ
is in the business of restoring the broken. His expertise is in mending and
redeeming what was lost and devastated and ruined!
But let me tell you a
secret. A truth that God spoke into my life years ago, before I was shattered.
Brokenness does not have to be the end. It can be a new beginning. No you
won't look the same and yes there will be cracks. But if you are filled with
the light of Christ, his light will shine brightly and it is through those scars
and cracks in your life that he can shine the brightest.
Shattering can
happen many ways: It can be caused by an accident, it can be caused
purposefully, it can be caused by an illness, it can be caused by a death, it can be caused by carelessness......and shattering is not the
stuff in life that takes a chip out of us....it's not hitting the ground with a
hard thud but remaining intact.....it's when it all falls apart. Shattering
happens quickly, in a second.....it is not an eroding. It is immediate. It's
when you hit the ground, you fall to pieces, and life looks like it will never
be the same. It's overwhelming, it's devastating, it's a mess. It cuts and the pain is searing.
I've had
several people I care VERY deeply for whose lives have shattered. It breaks my
heart. I hurt for them. I love them. I know truth and I can tell them.....God
has a plan. He will use this for your good. But they already know that. And
honestly that doesn't help when your life is shattered.
I am praying.
There is hope. It is such a long process. Life will never be the same. I have
not felt your particular pain. I can not imagine all that you are going
through. My life has been shattered -once. So I do know about shattered dreams
and I do know that God has used my cracks for his light to shine the brightest
in those areas of my life.....but that took years. I also know it is a process and it takes much to long and hurts much to much for it to be a pleasant process. First I had to piece by
piece be put back together again. It took time. A lot of time. I ache for you. The process of a life being
restored is not fun. HOWEVER precious friends there can be beauty from the
ashes. I love you guys dearly. I will walk this road with you and I'll love
you all forever.
This is our Savior, Redeemer, Restorer:
Isaiah 61:1-4
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent
me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and
release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's
favor and the day of vengeance of
our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion-to
bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead
of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will
be called oaks of righteousness a planting of the Lord for the display of his
splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long
devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for
generations.
No comments:
Post a Comment