A Broken Person

It’s easy to feel weary when you spend so much of your life as a broken person. People seldom talk about their brokenness. I know, because I spent years trying to hide all of my scars. I was fearful that people wouldn’t like me if they knew the truth about me. I’d sometimes try to cover my brokenness with razzle-dazzle good deeds. Or, I’m ashamed to say, I did my best to deflect their attention off my brokenness and onto someone else’s. And if all else failed, I hid away from everyone, not interacting with people at all. I told myself I was better off that way. Life was easier if I didn’t have to look at their perfection from my point of view. I thought I was the only one who had to deal with the ugliness of a broken life.

What a waste of time and energy.

 

Let’s tick off a few …

That’s what happened to me. [Insert taking a deep breath here] Here’s a list of some of my own broken experiences:

• Came from a dysfunctional home – Broken.
• Was divorced after a short marriage – Broken.
• Experienced the suicide of a loved one – Broken.
• Dealt with a brain tumor and was given days to live – Broken.

Please know … the list is longer than what I offered, but my point is not to pull attention to my brokenness. My point in giving you this list is this: when you see me, you do not see any of these points. You see a woman who celebrates the life God has given her.

Don’t you think we should celebrate when we discover how to leave a place of brokenness?

Ponder the difference

The point of choosing to celebrate is that I chose healing after each bout of brokenness.

Let me list some points of restoration:

• When my own children dealt with coming from divorced parents, I knew how to comfort them – Restored.
• Now, I am married to an amazing man who loves God – Restored.
• I have a heart for people who consider suicide. I can talk to them with authority and empathy, sharing my experiences – Restored.
• When I dealt with my own mortality and brain surgery, I experienced a closeness to God that I had never felt before – Restored.

Words of Encouragement for A Broken Person

God offers strong words of encouragement to us who are broken.

He sees us in our blights …

[box] The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.” Exodus 3:7[/box]

He promises good things …

[box] The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Psalm 85:12[/box]

He offers protection …

[box] indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. Psalm 121:4[/box]

What We Can Expect

The sad tale is, brokenness awaits us all. If we are not in the midst of being broken, we’ve either just climbed out of a hole of despair or are will be blind-sided by an experience we didn’t anticipate. When the latter happens, allow words of comfort to surround you. Scripture and good friends are key. Let God’s words, I will never leave you nor forsake you (Heb. 13:5) resonate in your heart. They were meant for you—not just the collective you, but you, the person reading this blog.

Who knows, maybe I was led to write this blog specifically for you to read.

Remember, you may find yourself as a broken person again. But how sweet it is to realize you can be restored, just as God restored you in the past.

 

What say you?

What do you wonder about?  Are you happy … or are you doing what you never thought you’d do? Do you see consistencies … or are you all over the place? Drop me a line. I’d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book, God’s Best During Your Worst, or check out any of my other books on my Book page.