“But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”  Isaiah 53:5

Broken

Once upon a time there was a wife and mom. A wife and mom who had everything that you would want. She had everything, but she was broken, she herself. She had a life and everything that you would want (she had everything!), but she broke it all, because she was broken. She did not want to be broken, she did not want to break the things, but she did not know what else to do, because she did not know how to unfasten the gears inside of her and reset them. Even if she had known how to check under the hood, she would not have known what she was looking for to fix. She did not have a very large tool box; she did not know how to use tools. All the things came crash bang down around her shins. So she turned her eyes upward, looking for God.

The easiest things to break were the hardest things to fix, and those were the things she cared for the most; those were the things that re-broke her when she learned they were broken. Those were the family; the one she was wife to, the ones she was mother to, the ones for whom she could never have been worthy, since they had all been created in the image of God.  

So she kept her eyes upward and waited for God. She finally understood that He was all that could fix what had caused her to break in the first place. She called out to the God of the broken, trusting that He had a big enough toolbox, that He knew how to use tools. She trusted that as He gently lifted all the pieces around her, He would not re-break them. He would not even fracture one delicate crack. He would dust them off gently and place them back to standing.  

He, who had broken Himself in her place, He Himself. Yes, she would trust Him, and wait…

That is a poetic version of the story of my life. I suspect it is the story of many, many lives. The ending and details are not written, because they vary. But aren’t we all broken, in need of healing we cannot bring to ourselves? And in the meantime, don’t we break, in subtle or not so subtle ways, everything that has been entrusted to us? Only God can heal us. But the good news is, He can. He will. The healing may look vastly different than what we thought it would. But hasn’t it already been proven that your own way wasn’t working? Look to God, wait for God, trust each piece to God.  

“Dear Lord Jesus, You broke so that we could be healed. You are all that fixes us. Amen.”