Broken Pieces

Broken shells Martha and I picked up on the beach in Panama City, Fla.

Aren't we drawn to beautiful things in life? Vibrant flowers, pristine mountain or beach views. Beautiful people, houses, and cars.

Remember as a kid when playing a pickup game of basketball how you would pick two captains and select teams. The tall kids were usually picked first. Why? Because they looked like basketball players. However, there may have been a Stephen Curry or Spud Webb in the group who were passed over, and they ended up shining brighter than the tall guys.

Thanks to a wonderful couple giving Martha and me their condo for the weekend, we enjoyed a nice walk on the beach in Panama City this past Sunday afternoon. The deep blue sky and bright sun sparkling off the emerald waters of the Gulf made for a perfect day to walk along the shore and look for sea shells.

Most of us look for those perfectly shaped shells with beautiful designs. We were doing that when I spotted a broken shell, and then another and another. A thought came to mind. These shells represent the brokenness all of us have felt at some point in our lives.

I thought about our homeless friends and how they come to Love In Action broken, or we find them in camps with their lives crushed by addiction, mental illness, or situations out of their control. At that moment, I thought, "Isn't that how God finds all of us - broken and hopeless?"

Some of the shells had sharp edges where they were broken off. It reminded me that broken people are hurting people, and hurting people will hurt others, just as the sharp edges of the shells do. Jesus can heal those wounds. He can make straight the crooked and sharp edges in our lives. We just have to surrender to Him.

He doesn't wait for us to clean ourselves up. He knows were are incapable of such a miracle. He takes us right where we are at and makes our lives beautiful.

Today, you may find yourself broken, a complete mess, like some of these shells we found on the beach. The waves of life have tossed and crushed you against the rocks and shore. But, you still have hope, and His name is Jesus.

He is picking you up right now and saying, "I see someone beautiful here." Let Jesus enter in and make you a new creation as we read in 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Are you broken? Call out to Jesus now. He's there waiting for you. Do you know anyone who is broken? Share Jesus with them today. Let them know He can take the ugliest of life's circumstances and make us beautiful. He can take all of our broken pieces and make us whole.