Below is a screenshot of a quick Google search I just did. I couldn’t remember the name of the technique but I knew the Japanese had made an art of repairing broken things with gold.

Kintsugi recognizes the history of the object without disguising the ways and places it’s been broken.

Just stop and think about that a second.

The connection to our lives probably needs no explanation, but because I’m a woman with a lot of words, I’m going to do it, anyway.

A few years ago I was in a very broken place. As I sat in prayer I was apologizing to God for being such a screw up. I felt like everything was sliding through my fingers and I was a big mess.

Instantly, a picture formed in my mind. There was a work bench in a dimly lit room, and a kind-faced man was bent over a pile of broken pottery shards. He held a small dustpan and broom and was gently sweeping up the pieces.

He wasn’t angry or frustrated. Gentleness emanated from him and I knew he was going to take all those pieces, spread them out on his workbench, and put them back together.

The broken shards were me and the kind workman was God. My Father.

When our lives are broken He isn’t angry. When we are distraught over the messes we’ve made, or feel like we’ve made, He isn’t. If we let Him, he will take whatever bits we bring and lovingly put it all back together.

And he doesn’t hide his handiwork, he puts it on display.

We don’t have to hide it, either. It is what it is, but that’s not the end of it.

I love the idea of God filling the cracks with gold, highlighting what we’ve experienced – even the pain of the brokenness.

There’s no shame there.

None.

When he puts us out there, he’s not looking for our perfection. His power is perfected in our weakness. He is most on display in us when our brokenness is evident, but so is our healing.

Never hide your story, your testimony, of the goodness of God. Don’t hide the brokenness that is yet to be touched. We all have it.

To me, it’s beautiful. I love to hear a good redemption story but I also love the gut cries of a contrite heart. And so does God.

“A broken and contrite heart He will not despise.” Psalm 51

Don’t hide your history, or put on a disguise to cover yourself.

Let us see the beautiful way God has restored you and continues to do so.