Broken

The other day I had, “one of those days.” I was in a hurry trying get my flowers on the front porch watered when suddenly I heard a crash. I turned around and there was “Mr. Squirrel,” my favorite lawn ornament all broken up. The garden hose I was watering with had knocked him over onto the cement. His poor tail has been broken before and now it really looked bad. Some people would ask me why I bother patching this battered piece of clay back together. My answer? “He’s one of my orphans.” Years ago I worked at a garden center that sold home and garden decor. Occasionally we would get an order in where some items were damaged in shipping. Mr Squirrel was one of those items. Our store owner wrote Mr Squirrel off as damaged goods and tossed him into the dumpster in the back alley. I asked my manager for permission and then shamelessly dug through the trash and rescued my new found treasure. Sound cheap? Yes, but I loved that little ornament for two reasons. One reason was honestly, our budget was so tight that buying home decor of any kind was out of the question. The second was that this broken, paint chipped vessel reminded me of myself. I have been broken. I have been in the place where some people have written me off as undesirable and of no value. But God had something else in mind.

 “keeping our eyes on Jesus,the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.” Hebrews 12:22

As long as we are on this planet we can know for certain that we will make mistakes. Life happens to all of us. We will have times of sorrow, regret, and brokenness. Let us always remember that we are the joy Jesus saw when He was beaten and dying on the cross. He was shamed and broken for us. He endured pain and disgrace so that we could have victory. Have you fallen? Are you broken? Do you feel discarded? Don’t give up! God is not finished with you yet!

“So I went to the potter’s house, and sure enough, the potter was there, working away at his wheel. Whenever the pot the potter was working on turned out badly, as sometimes happens when you are working with clay, the potter would simply start over and use the same clay to make another pot.” Jeremiah 18:3-4 (MSG)

You are here for a reason. You are not a mistake or an accident. Jesus Christ saw you and I before the earth was ever made. Not only did He see us, He had a plan. He gave His life so that we could live. Living is not merely existing. Living is joy, peace, strength, direction, and purpose. Every single one of those things are found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He paid a painful, slow death so that we could find a new life and new hope in Him. That new life and new beginning starts with a simple prayer that goes something like this: “Lord Jesus, I know I have made some mistakes. I have sinned. I ask you to forgive me. Come into my life. I give you control. I cannot do this on my own. But, I know with You I can have a new beginning and an amazing future. From this day forward I will live for you and allow Your Word to guide, lead and direct my life. I will believe what Your Word says about me and not what any other person has labeled me as. Thank you for the hope that I now have in You, Amen.”

“Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence.” 2 Corinthians 5:17