when you are the owner of a broken heart

Friend, today I am going to share from the heart one of the biggest lessons I have ever learned about brokenness.  My prayer is that the same God who is rebuilding the broken pieces with me will give you a glimpse of hope where you are feeling broken.

Maybe you and I, we’re never meant to be complete. Could we just be broken together? If you can bring your shattered dreams and I’ll bring mine. Could healing still be spoken and save us? The only way we’ll last forever is broken together. – Broken Together- Casting Crowns

Relationships are hard.

Especially the ones with the people you interact with every day.

Because in our own way, deep down within each of us, we are broken.

Some more than others, but no one walks this earth unscathed in some way.

Not even Jesus did.

I have found that when I am feeling broken, I have a tendency to hide away, lick my wounds and brood. Occasionally, a full blown cry fest erupts, leaving me exhausted on top of the broken pieces I am trying so hard to hold together.

But we were designed for community. With our best friends and families, but especially in marriage, if we have been blessed with that gift.

These past 25 years together, my hubby and I have had a lot of mileage into the realm of brokenness. It has been harder than I imagined at times, more painful than I ever thought, and gone deeper than I ever dreamed possible.

Yet together we are stronger because of it, for we can see God moving better in each other at times than we can sense Him moving within ourselves.

Building one another up when the other is feeling low. Being the shoulder to cry on when we need to let it out.

Because the secret to being broken in a marriage and still staying married?

The three stranded cord.

By yourself you’re unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped.  Ecclesiastes 4:12 (MSG)

When even one of you invite God into your marriage, He intertwines Himself into it. He becomes the stabilizer, the marriage counselor. He gives you the love to express when you feel empty, yet your hubby needs to know you care. He gives your hubby the strength to just listen & tell you he loves you.

Without God, our marriage would not have made it this far.

Because in our own strength we would have run on empty long ago.

It’s not about having made a bad pick, or being a mismatched pair.

It’s making the one you are with your mate, supported by the Love that never fails, never gives up and never runs out on either of you, or your marriage.

If you know you are broken and need help, pray and ask God to bring you to the right resources, or bring the best help to you.

Your spouse’s brokenness isn’t for you to heal, that is His job. They need your support and love as they face their own brokenness and support you in yours.

God knew when He designed marriage that we would need one another:

In better, in worse.
In sickness, in health.
With wealth, without much.
Whether whole or broken.

The amazing thing I have found? My hubby and I have not been so broken in the same ways that we couldn’t be there for one another. Often not perfectly, but present none the less.

In His mercy, He makes us the mate our spouse needs. Whether we have broken bits or not.

Only God can take what is broken, and shape it to make something beautiful.

  • He is with us, every step of the journey.
  • His Presence draws closer with every request for Him to come and be nearer.
  • His love, strength, grace and mercy are more than enough for what you and your spouse may face today.

He longs to restore and repair where we are broken, and can do amazing things when we place ourselves in His hands.

Broken together with the Potter makes for a beautiful finish beyond belief.

When we give Him all the pieces, He can make us whole again, one piece at a time.

broken together

#broken #hopefortheharddays #hopeinHisPresence

birds of a feather

I always related to the ugly duckling as a child, and honestly, still as an adult.

Not because I think I am exceptionally ugly  (surface beauty is in the eye of the beholder…) but because I have always felt on the outside looking in.  A misfit.  A round peg trying to fit in square holes.

I have felt that way at times in my relationships, my jobs, in ministry & at church.

And then in an email that arrived last night, I realized why I didn’t fit with the rest of the lovely ducks in the pond around me.

I’m a songbird. 🙂

Silly goose!

Laughter aside, I was trying to make myself fit into a mold I was never designed to fit.

I am both a trailblazer and a companion in my giftings.  A mentor, leader & supporter all rolled into one.

I tend to flock with the other birds also seeking their right fit.

And that is okay with God.

Coz its how He designed me.

With that email yesterday?

I realized that I have four fellow chicks I am meant to flock with. To support when one moves into the lead, to be alongside to help break the winds and offer relief when needed.  To all jointly pull in one direction, yet as individuals each doing our part.

That I am not alone.

Just as the foremost goose in the front of the flock rotates when their wings get tired, I am meant to be part of a team, not on my own.

And like the other geese, we all have separate backgrounds & nests which make us uniquely qualified to separately share,  becoming amplified when we join as the Bride to share His Words & Love to the beloved who don’t yet know the depths of His heart.

He makes us somehow even more when we are together than our sole efforts on our own.

We live in five different areas over a few time zones. Some have older kids, some younger.  A few have obvious scars, others are more hidden.

We all have an intentional pursuit of His Presence, insatiable desire for His Word and longing to hear His voice over all.

Like geese, we know we need God to be the strength allowing us to fly despite the headwinds against us.  We know we were meant to be united in fellowship, tight flock formation despite our differences.

We may not always be completely understood in our home ponds, but as birds of a feather united together for His Kingdom, we are being blessed.

My desire is for God to help each of us find our main voice as daughters of the King, writing for His Kingdom and His glory.

When God unites our hearts, we can’t wait to flock together. 🙂

image

PS. I am blessed to have both local flocks of chicks, and a international flock.  This post specifically refers to my fellow writing chicks: Beth, Brandi, Kate, Jaime.

May we become the Song He longs for us to sing in harmony for His glory.

PPS. My “local” flock of chicks know how much I value & appreciate their love through the swells, valleys & storms. I regularly try to let them know how much I treasure them, more than words, and flock together whenever we can. You know who you are, sisters! xo

community matters

Today, I am taking a day off from writing.

I am spending some time allowing my sprained wrist to recover, but also listening to where the Spirit wants me to write next.

Easter hit me with a different impact this year, and I want to soak in the lessons I ahve learns, and make them part of me before moving on.

But because YOU matter, I am posting about community.

How unity is such a part of God’s heart for His people.

Because He himself dies to bring us back to Him, to be reUNITED with Him.

To become one with Him, through him, in Him.

You can read this post in its entirety at my church’s blog:

http://auroracornerstone.ca/blog

bindustogether