I have a friend who once wrote a beautiful poem about a broken vase. It held a lot of meaning for her. And this morning I remembered this story told me by another friend. It held a lot of meaning for me. Somehow I feel these stories are connected. I bring this to you with my good friend—an almost like a daughter—friend in mind. With love.

 

“See, I am making all things new!”  (Revelation 21:5 TLB)

 

Kintsugi is a Japanese art form in which broken pottery is restored, not by hiding the places where repairs are made, but by sealing the cracks with lacquer mixed with expensive gold. A vase thus repaired becomes more beautiful, more valuable, and more unique than before it was broken. It has a new story – a richer story.

You might be thinking to yourself. I’ve been broken. I’ve been broken like such pottery.

Some very hurtful things could have happened to you, things you might never forget. You might have been betrayed by a good friend, rejected badly. Or you might have suffered a severe accident or illness, taking away the life you had known.

Many of us carry such pain. We need to be repaired. We need a new story.

Are you like such pottery? Broken? You wonder if it’s possible to ever be mended again. You wonder if there’s a future worth living. Could artistry like Kintsugi work wonders in your life, as it does in broken pottery? Yes, through our Lord Jesus it can.

An artist’s caring hand applies gold to restore a broken bowl and creates something better than new. In the same way, when we draw close to Christ, His hand will repair our brokenness and make us into something better than new. In many ways we’ll find ourselves stronger, better able to serve God. Having suffered, we’ll understand the pain of others. We’ll be better equipped to help them. Our life is richer. We have more to offer.

The cracks showing that we were once broken will still be there, but they have been healed with something precious – the golden love of a Master Craftsman.

Our life has a new story. And it’s a beautiful one.

Marja