Broken

When I started the post below on March 13, it was supposed to be about broken items and finding uses or ways to fix them, not giving up, somehow it turned into something else. A message someone needs to hear? I don't know, but the words are now written and my original intent is lost. Guess not having my writer's notebook all the time can sometimes lead to the unplanned writing below. I pray that if this was written because someone out there needs to read it that they either read my blog already or because they found it somehow through Divine intervention.

Psalm 34:18 (New International Version)
18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

What does it meant to be broken? Is it beyond repair? Can it no longer be of use?

As we sat in a back pew at church a few weeks ago I heard Bradley saying, "Mommy, look it's broken."

"What's broken?"

"My crayon," and Bradley held up the crayon.

The tip of it had been broken off.

So many times we look at things and declare them broken, but it's not this label that distinguishes it from everything else. It is what we decide to do about it. It's our actions that determine what it truly means to be broken. I chose to show Bradley the crayon could still be used, we just needed to peel back the paper.

Can you think of other instances in your life when you've declared something broken or felt broken? Have you ever cried out to God asking, "Why?" Have you ever had those days when you think it may be an okay day, but then you get one piece of bad news, followed by another, and it feels as if you can't go any further? What do you decide to do?

Whether the broken item is something concrete, tangible or whether it is a feeling; it is up to you to decide. As the scripture verse at the beginning of this post says, God is with the brokenhearted. Even if you feel as if you are broken, God still loves you, he still cares.

As I've written in the past, sometimes you have to fall in order to become stronger. The same is true for being broken. So you make the choice, do you give up on life just because a few things go wrong and you feel as if you will never have the strength to go on? Or do you give in, hit rock bottom, then fight to survive and pick up the pieces so you become stronger? Can you pick up all those pieces without God?

Lord, please help us all to find you through our struggles. Help us to find the belief in our self and to find the strength that you know we possess. Amen.

Broken by Lindsey Haun

Wake up to a sunny day,
Not a cloud up in the sky
Then it starts to rain.
My defenses hit the ground,
and they shatter all around
So open and exposed
But I find strength in the struggle
Face to face with my trouble

Chorus: When you're broken,
in a million little pieces
And you're trying,
but you can't hold on anymore
Every tear falls down for a reason
Don't you stop believing in yourself
When you're broken.
Little girl don't be so blue
I know what you're going through
Don't let it beat you up.
Hitting walls and getting scars
Only makes you who you are
Only makes you who you are.
No matter how much your heart is aching
There is beauty in the breaking
Yeah

(Repeat chorus)

Better days are you gonna find you once again
Everything will find its place
When you're broken,
when you're broken

(Repeat chorus)

Oh when you're broken
When you're broken
When you're broken