Beautifully Broken

We all have a story.  We all have a past.  God has molded and shaped us through trials and tribulations, yet its what we choose to do with these events that will shape who we become.  We can choose to allow these circumstances to weigh us down and keep us from impacting the lives of others for the glory of the Lord, or we can allow these circumstances to create us into beautifully broken pieces of art.

Starting my last semester in college I worked at Belk in the China department.  My mom really wanted to have a discussion with the manager that hired me, because she had always called me a bull in a China Shop and that was a huge reason in her mind that this was a less than perfect job for me.  To be honest she was actually very accurate on that description,  I was not blessed with the grace to stand on a 6 foot ladder and balance fine china while climbing down, typically I had a hard enough time balancing myself.  The result of this clumsiness were many broken tea cups, plates and saucers.  Every time I would feel the piece slip from my hand I would feel a sick uneasy feeling as I was forced to watch as it fell to the concrete floor, and as it shattered into many pieces.  Sometimes in just being shifted a handle would break and it would be a clean break where the piece could be glued back together and could still serve its purpose, but other times the piece would shatter into a hundred pieces and as I reached for the broom and dust pan I realized how beautiful the pattern was even in the midst of the broken pieces.  The cup could not be glued back together to be a cup, in fact it would never be a cup again and even if the pieces were put back in place the cup would more than likely leak, however if the pieces had been given to an artist, the cup's destiny would have changed drastically.  The broken pieces would have worth in the eyes of an artist.  Placed together in the perfect arrangement these broken pieces become beautiful works of art, but without the artist, the pieces were destined for only the trash.

Our lives are similar to these broken China cups,  we are broken, we are battered, we are dirty, and we are in need of the artist.  When we give our lives to the Lord, he asks us to give up our old way of life.  We  are broken into hundreds of pieces, some more than others. Some people's lives seem that they would only break into two peiecs, while others have faced drastic heartaches and trials and break into thousands of pieces.  But no matter what you have faced, you are still broken, you need to be healed, and you cant be healed without the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus unlike a  human putting a cup back together with glue, has the ability to completely restore the broken pieces back to their original purpose in a perfect condition, but sometimes he chooses to take those pieces and create something all together different and even more beautiful.    When he saves us the Lord creates us into beautiful works of art for his enjoyment and for others to see him in.  The artist is always evident in the artwork.

Have you allowed the Lord to piece you back together?  Have you allowed him to create something in you that is more magnification than the most expensive piece of artwork in the world?  Have you seen your value and your beauty  through the eyes of your creator.

We can be beautifully broken and beautifully restored if we only allow him to have our pieces.

Check back tomorrow as we talk about the broken pieces after salvation and how the Lord uses the broken to complete his greatest work.

Dissatisfaction... Is God's answered prayer enough for you?

Let’s be honest friends, we all struggle with wanting what we don’t have.  We aren’t always satisfied with what the Lord has blessed us with. In line with yesterday’s blog post on being discontent, today's post is about how the Lord is also showing me how dissatisfied and I have been in the answers he has given me for certain prayers.  In reading the Resolution for Women, the Lord is showing me that he has already provided everything that I need, and if it is not in my life, there is something that he is trying to teach me, or a foundational principal that he is trying to firm up.  I had an experience with this very subject, this week, that opened my eyes more than I could have ever imagined.

Like yesterday’s post where I talked about the fact that I had been being discontent in the circumstances of  where I was in my life, and had spent the last few months dating hoping that “God would bless me," I found that the Lord was allowing me to become discouraged and even depressed from my discontentment.  Although I was praying for major changes in my life and my prayers were very specific, they weren’t lining up with the actions I was taking in my life.  I was praying for an amazing Godly man,  the one who would know how to lead me as a woman, the one that had a desire to pray for and with me, the one who wanted to grow in the Lord together , and would protect my heart as he pointed me to the Lord and not pulled me to himself. I was also praying for the Lord to protect me from relationships that I was not ready for and to send a godly friend into my life.  However despite all the time I had spent praying for these specific things,   I allowed men into my life over the last few months that were not godly men.  It doesn’t mean that they were bad people, most of them were even Christians, but they weren’t actively seeking a relationship with Jesus and growing to be men after God’s own heart.

And then it happened…. I was just sure that God was answering my prayer and I knew exactly which one it was he had answered when, a Godly man walked into my life, we connected, we had so much in common, we both loved the Lord and wanted to glorify him, but I still wasn’t completely content..  I had been praying for a Godly friend to encourage me, and yet when someone walked into my life and did that very thing I wanted more.  I wanted validation that he thought I was someone special, I wanted a first date,  but sometimes those things just don’t work out the way we plan.  He seemed to be perusing me and I was so happy, at least I thought, until circumstances changed, and our first date got  cancelled,  I was devastated, I questioned what was wrong with me, what I had done wrong, why he didn’t like me, what had changed.  I let Satan run wild in my head.

But yet, this godly man never quit encouraging me, and in fact when I was able to step back and see the big picture I realized how much he was protecting me from rushing into something we both weren’t sure was God’s will.  Over the next few days our conversations turned from ourselves and the thoughts of dating, to the Lord and serving him, bettering ourselves, becoming a more godly man and godly woman. We talked for hours about church, and ministry opportunities and the reality of the gospel.  I realized the other night that God had answered my prayer, He had sent me a godly friend, someone who would spur me toward the cross. That would encourage me in sharing what Jesus had done for me, someone who made me realize waiting for the relationship that the Lord has for me is the only way to make things work, and who knows, maybe one day he and I can revisit those dating converstations. :)

I realized God was using these conversations to soften my heart to bring me back to a place where I would fully surrender all parts of my life and my will to him.  The desire I have seen in my life change for the word and prayer, has amazed me, the Lord flashed something in front of my eyes that I thought I wanted and turned it into something I desperately needed.  Who are we to question what God is doing.   Sometimes he doesn’t allow us to have things in our lives that we want, because he is working on strengthening up the foundation of our spiritual lives, so, that when he blesses us with things or people in our lives, we are ready to handle them in a way that is fully glorifying only to Him.

I realize God knows best, he has plans for us, that is a promise you can stand on.  When you think God is not answering your prayer, take a step back and refocus.  Is he providing for  the need in another way.  Is he telling you to wait so he can work on you first?  Is he telling you no flat out because it’s something that is not good or even harmful for you. 

I suggest writing out your prayers in bullet points and putting them somewhere you can see them, so that you can pray fervently for your desires and can see when God does answer…, GOD WILL ANSWER in his time and in his will.  Rest easy on that promise sweet friend.  Knowing that God is answering your prayers will help you become more fully content in him

Discontentment... Discouragement... Depression...

Age:14 – If I could only Drive … I’d be happy

Age 16- If I could only graduate – I’d be happy

Age 18- If I could only get out of the house and on with my life – I’d be happy

Age 23 –If only I could find my future husband – I’d be happy

Age 27- If only we would just get engaged- I’d be happy

Age 28- If the wedding would hurry up – Id be happy

Age 30- If we could have children -I’d be happy

Age 33- If my Kids would just   grow up- I’d be happy

….. see the trend.  Whether it is I’d be happy, or life would be easier, or my life would be complete, these are all signs of discontentment.  Over the past few weeks the Lord has been teaching me a lot about being content, and I have become so much more aware of the epidemic of disconnectedness around me.  Girls want to be women, boys want to be men, wives want to be mothers, workers want to be bosses.  Employees want to be retired.  Although these things are not bad alone, when we allow a spirit of discontent to overwhelm us it can make us miss out on some truly amazing moments in our lives.

Over the last year I have been so discontent with where my life has been.  I look back on  it, from where I am now, and  realize I have missed blessings from the Lord, in hurrying to the next phase of my life.  Just about a year ago I made the decision that drastic measures had to be taken in my marriage.  I truly wanted to save my marriage, and began to seek counseling; within a few weeks of biblical counseling I realized that separation was the best option.  Separation didn’t happen overnight and those few months were miserable. I remember thinking to myself, if I can only get away.  Then when we finally did separate, I was left with the house, and my thinking moved to if I can only get out from under this house.  I moved and started a new job, and thought if only I could get settled, and get my business back off the ground again.  A few months later with no signs of reconciliation or returning to counseling together, I found myself thinking if only this year was up and things could be finalized.  A few weeks later I found myself thinking if only I could find the right man, as I started dating again, and then I woke up and realized, that I had wished away last  year. 

My discontentment in my circumstances turned to discouragement in my life, I found myself falling into depression.  I wasn’t present in my life, and I was asking subconsciously, people in my life, to hurry up and change to make me happier in my current situations.  It all stemmed from discontentment.   My lack of being content stemmed from not fully trusting that the Lord is good.  I also wasnt trusting that I was in the exact place and circumstances he had me in, in the moment.

But you know what ?  God is good.  He has a plan, and when we complain and aren’t content in the place that he has us, we are only missing out on blessings that he has in store for us. We make ourselves miserable, and we make others around us miserable.  God is faithful and just and he has a plan, so sweet friend, join me on the journey of being content with your current place in life.

In 1 Timothy we are reminded that “godliness with contentment is great gain” ( 1 Timothy  6:6)   If as believers we can learn to grow in godliness and learn to be content it will change our lives. 

“….be content with what you have, because God said: Never will I leave you and never will I forsake you”.   (Hebrews 13:5)

And isn’t he all we need?

Dear friends, lets move forward  being content, present, and grateful for the season of life that the Lord has us in at this very moment.  Thank him today for where he has you and ask him to help still your heart so that you can be content.