An entire month has passed since my last entry. Somehow after Lia's birthday, life took over and I have not paused long enough to come here to remember and celebrate and give thanks for all the little and big things that each day holds. These past weeks have been full and a little overwhelming, as we navigated kid stuff and life stuff, the good and hard stuff, that tries to suck the life right out of you.
Instead of trying to catch up with my daily entries, I'm just going to pick up and move forward with where we are at today. 10.18.2015
I'm home with a cold that feels like it wants to turn into a sinus infection. I put on my comfy pants, my soft flannel shirt, made a cup of yujacha (Korean Citron Tea) and nestled into a sun-kissed spot on the couch. My mind has been full today as I think about beautiful stories of redemption and hope and painful stories of loss and brokenness over the past month. It's so strange how both of these places can exist at the same time. In weakness, you are strong. In loss, you gain life. In giving, you actually multiply the gift. Paradox.
This morning I was hanging out with one of the college girls. She is an art major at one of the local colleges. She is gifted and thoughtful, kind and tender. She shared a bit of her story with me about how God was using difficult parts of her life to bring redemption and hope. Though I wasn't feeling well, I was so thankful for the sweet time with her. She is currently taking a pottery class at school and was telling me about a Japanese pottery technique that is simply beautiful.
“Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, the idea being that the piece becomes more beautiful and valuable because it was broken.”
Any time I brake something I throw it away. Discard it. It has no use to me any longer. The Kingdom is so different. Everything about how Jesus views us and how He operates is completely opposite of what culture says. Jesus seeks out the broken, forgotten, discarded, fragile and lonely and gives value and makes beautiful all the brokenness. He then places the highest honor and worth upon us--despite us He declares us lovely and His chosen sons and daughters. I want to believe for this, fight for this, rest in the truth of it and speak into the lives of others.
Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, gave thanks and gave it, shared it with the disciples . . . He said, I am the Bread of Life . . . He was broken, gave the Father thanks for the suffering and death that was before Him and then gave up His life--for you and me . . . Brokenness isn't weakness, it's powerful when it is given away.
"We are called to become bread for each other--bread for the world."
"You and I would dance for joy were we to know truly that we, little people, are chosen, blessed, and broken to become the bread that will multiply itself in the giving."
Henri Nouwen, Life of the Beloved
If you haven't read, Life of the Beloved by Nouwen, I would encourage you to.
You are beloved.
