The Beauty in Brokeness

How much of our own shell of ideals hinder our full growth in Christ’s plans for our lives? 

As the late and eloquent poet Maya Angelou expressed, “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” There is a process God takes us through so intricately as we are being made into a new creation. 

Any beautiful butterfly that we admire in the springtime and summer has their fall and winter process. The butterfly had to break free from the sheltered cocoon to be fully seen as an elaborate creation. The butterfly was first a sheltered caterpillar. As the creature began to develop, it had to grow in its strength and courage to break free from the closeness of the shell. How much of our shell of ideals hinders our full growth in Christ’s plans for our lives? 

See, God had to break this thought pattern in my life that the only way to be desirable/attractive to a potential young man was to drop 50 pounds. God had to break my actions in taking care of my hair as pride and make me realize that the way I take care of my crown of glory honors Him. God had to remind me that the presence of another person’s beauty never meant the absence of my own. 

Beloved, what thoughts, actions, and decisions are we making because of brokenness? A broken heart? A scarred conscience? A crushed spirit? Before we can be made whole (glow-up), it is essential we become aware and surrender to Christ changing our hearts and lives. Christ wants to break those patterns and thought processes, that are inhibiting our full growth into His purpose for our lives. 

The beauty of our brokenness is it allows us to realize the wholeness of our Savior. Our brokenness invites Jesus to help us and mend our hearts. We are liberated by welcoming the power and healing of Christ into our lives. As believers, our breaking free of the cocoon (our own ideals) requires trust and surrender to Christ’s patterns. It requires that we know that God will take care of us and that we will be safe from the outside world. Before the glow-up, we must give time for a breaking of our old selves through prayer, fasting, reading God’s word, and godly community. 

Weekly Scripture

“He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.”

Psalm 147:3

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