Beautifully broken

I love finding beauty in unique things. I recently came across a huge limb that was ripped from its trunk after a wind storm we had not too long ago.

At first I was heartbroken. The tree sits in my backyard and has been the meeting place for many woodpeckers. Those birds have become wonderful artists, chiseling away at that old crab apple (I think) tree. I can gaze upon the tree for hours, especially when the blossoms are in full bloom.

But then I started poking around the large limb, looking at it from many different angles. The more I looked, the more I mused about the beauty that had come from being dismembered from the whole. I got to look inside at a view that wouldn’t have been possible without the wind, years of wear and tear and the numerous holes from the beaks of the woodpeckers.

I find people uniquely beautiful in similar fashions. Every person’s story is unique to only them. Sometimes our circumstances can act like a mighty wind and bring about brokenness in our life. It seems like we’re laid bare for the world to see our insides, along with the hidden damage, years of fruit and years of drought.

From personal experience, I never enjoy this brokenness. However, I always look back with gratitude for the lessons I’ve learned, ways I’ve grown and the beauty that comes from those times of brokenness.

If we could see people who are struggling as works of art in progress, being chiseled by the Master, we might have more patience in their journey of healing.

The Bible is filled with wonderful portraits of beautifully broken people whose lives encourage us still today. Not because they were perfect, but because their struggles have given us courage to keep walking with the Master.