When my dad passed away, I received a cross that belonged to him. This precious cross represented more than Christ’s sacrifice for me—it was also a reminder of my earthly father and the love we shared.
A few years ago, in the middle of the night, I was awakened by a loud crash. The sound was so startling that I knew something had happened. The next morning, I discovered my dad’s cross lying on the floor, shattered into countless pieces.
My heart broke. I fell to my knees in tears, carefully gathering each tiny piece and placing them into a plastic bag. When my husband, Howard, walked in and saw me, he immediately understood my grief. He knew how much that cross meant to me. No matter how much I cried or wished I could put it back together, I couldn’t. It was beyond my ability to repair.
As I thought about that broken cross, I was reminded of the moments in my own life when I felt shattered. There have been times when circumstances left me hurting, disappointed, and unable to make sense of the pieces around me. I tried to fix things on my own, but my efforts were never enough.
That’s when I had to surrender the broken pieces to my Savior. Only Jesus could take what was damaged and transform it into something beautiful. Only He could bring peace where there was pain and purpose where there was brokenness.
There is a difference between suffering and brokenness. Suffering is what happens because of the things we face, but brokenness is what happens within our hearts. When I bring my brokenness to God, He does what only He can do—He restores.
God can take ashes and create beauty. He can use our hurts, disappointments, failures, and wounds to write a story that brings Him glory. He is able to take a life that feels broken and restore it into a life filled with purpose.
Not long after my dad’s cross shattered, a sweet friend came to help me decorate for Christmas. During our time together, she shared that her son loved restoring broken things and asked if she could take the pieces to him.
Inside, I wondered if anyone could truly restore my dad’s old plaster cross. But I gave her the bag of broken pieces.
When she returned the cross, I was amazed. The restoration was beautiful.
Every day when I sit beneath that cross in my study, I am reminded of another Son who took the broken pieces of my life and restored me in His perfect timing. If you look closely at my dad’s cross, you can see where the pieces were joined back together. And if you look closely at me, you may see the places where Jesus has restored my broken pieces and made something beautiful.
Are you willing to recognize the broken places in your life and place them in Jesus’ hands? He is the Master Restorer, and He can transform your brokenness into something beautiful.
“This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ‘Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.”
— Jeremiah 18:1-4 (NIV)
Additional Resources
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