When a glass hits the floor pieces fly off in every direction. You can take an identical glass and drop it from the same height onto the same floor and the broken pieces are completely different.
When hit hard by life, we can seem to shatter too. Those broken pieces seem to be irreparable or even lost. But God knows our breaks and where each piece is hidden. He may put pieces back together, healing the crack. Or He may make something completely different from the broken pieces. Something beautiful.
My neighbor and I might suffer the same tragedy, but break differently. God uses common experiences in our lives to encourage one another yet we need to be mindful of each person’s unique hurt even in a shared experience.
It’s comforting to know that God understands our breaks – and He can heal them. And I need to be reminded that someone else’s break may be different than mine, even if they hit same floor.
On my bathroom sink sits a shell filled with pieces of tumbled glass picked up from the seashore. They are no longer sharp but now smooth and exquisite – each one with its own distinctive beauty. They were a precious gift from a friend and I get frequent remarks on their presence. They are a good reminder to me that in time beauty can be made from broken pieces – and also that each shattered piece is unlike any other.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18
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