Beautiful, but Broken.

Broken things are beautiful too…

Beauty,

That’s all you see…

The prettiness, the beauty, the smile, and glow on the outside…

That’s all you see  

But,

Deep inside is one who’s hurting, void, empty, broken, and a little damaged.

Atticus said it, “some beautiful things are broken”, and yea, he’s right.

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While researching more on this topic, I came across a Japanese word ‘Kintsugi’, which translates as ‘joining or mending with gold‘ (kin is ‘gold’ and tsugi is ‘join’). It is an ancient Japanese art which uses urushi (Japanese lacquer) dusted with powdered gold to repair and restore broken ceramic and vessels.

One of the hardest truth or lesson in life is that, beautiful things can also break, and that doesn’t make them ugly, no! It only creates another beautiful piece of art to be admired, adored and appreciated, just as the image above illustrates.

Truth is, we all are broken, one way or another. We have all experienced heartbreaks, disappointments, feeling of helplessness e.t.c. We have our own flaws and have made mistakes that causes cracks and brokenness in us. It is not right for you to continue embracing the feeling of dejection, doubt and depression. Those scars are actually your unique emblem of strength and survival. You have to own up to it and take responsibility to fix it instead of wallowing in self pity and playing the blame game. Admit, acknowledge, accept and act – that is the gold you need to mend the cracks.

The art of Kintsugi further inspires us to embrace our flaws and accept them as a part of life while giving hope that repair or healing is possible, if we allow ourselves go through the healing process. Observing the kintsugi art, you’ll realize that the Potter do not mend the broken piece with the intention of trying to hide the cracks, rather, he further highlights the cracks with the gold which brings out the beauty – Acceptance.

Life’s challenges and difficulties can leave many scars, but our resilience, determination and willingness to heal through all would eventually lead to our growth and successes. After all, It’s the challenges that make us stronger, and what doesn’t kill you kinda makes you stronger. We actually create something more unique, beautiful and resilient in the process of repair.

Do you know that an authentic kintsugi bowl or vase is actually very expensive? So are you, when you embrace your cracks and mend it, going through the healthy way of healing. You become refined and transformed, more real and authentic.

***

Something’s broken? Who? or what will fix it?

Apparently, not all broken things can be fixed for it’s original use, but broken things can be used to create something even more beautiful.

***

Just as a potter doesn’t just discard a broken piece, God, the Grand Master Potter, takes what is broken, ruined and traumatized, and heals, restores and transforms. He never rejects a broken hearted person (Ps. 51:17). In fact, he will give you beauty for ashes. He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds (Ps. 147:3).

We all have nothing perfect of ourselves to boast of, for sin has broken all of us, but it is a good thing we have a Savior who specializes in fixing and mending broken hearts, making even the most broken whole again.

I hope you find this post helpful as it encourages you to embrace the newness that comes with being broken, and also your true identity in God irrespective of the numerous cracks you have.

But before you go, please leave me a comment below and let me know what you think of this article. Your feedback is important to me. 😊