Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Breaking

the sound of glass shattering has my boys' feet scrambling even as the tears and sorrys drip fast. this is because i'm afraid of the broken things. fragility has long been associated with value, and i've known breaking:
a pottery jar i saved money to buy. the emu egg she gave me. that sweet picture of him when we met.
these have all met a shattered fate, and i cried at each shard thrown away, rebelled against the permanence of broken.
those little eyes knew my displeasure, and i wonder if their hearts didn't break, too, just a bit. should they be careful in the house, our home filled with plenty of fragile things? my worldly self says, "of course!" but i wonder what He would think of that, He who is yet an untamed Lion, and this not the season for lying with lambs.
i've learned that His word says he does not willingly afflict his children and that his compassion is renewed every morning. i think this is precisely because he knows how hard the refining is; He who was broken and rejected breaks us so that He may spill forth.
oh, we are fragile and precious both, for are we not earthen vessels filled with treasure?

my sister is in a time of breaking, and i've prayed hard for her this week. some of what is at stake affects me, too, and i am a little afraid it's my "turn" to face this kind of refining. i know His hand is on both of us. i also know that unlike me with my little trinkets, when i break, he does not get angry and lash... he restores and heals the broken-hearted.


a perfect place to meet imperfect people all somewhere on the journey in being broken--linking with emily and others

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

sort of like, he has to crack you, so that he can find his way in. if our lives were perfect and happy all of the time...we wouldnt need him very much, and he doesn't want that. he wants to be needed. perhaps being broken is a blessing! your post reminds me of this which i just learned recently...

Come and let us return to the Lord, for He has torn so that He may heal us; He has stricken so that He may bind us up. (Hosea 6:1)

God bless you Misty, and your sister :)

Amanda MacB said...

So many great reminders in your writing today.
And this: "He who was broken and rejected breaks us so that He may spill forth." Powerful and beautiful.

Nancy said...

I'm so glad Vicki included the Hosea reference in her comment. My brain was fumbling around trying to find it as I was reading your post. The other phrase that kept coming to mind was "Wounded Healer."

And, yeah, I get that tension between wanting to teach kids to be careful with fragile things and extending them grace when they get it wrong!

starla said...

We all just broken vessels...
and oh how I still fear the braking part even though I know that each time I have been cracked open by God's hand my life has pour sweeter (after I have had a fit of course ..lol) still working on the trusting completely through the emotions
Great post.... I pray your sister mends beautifully...amen!

Bethany Ann said...

my poor boys keep testing my patience, which fails often. i feel we're all about to break -- i must break first.

alittlebitograce said...

i also know that unlike me with my little trinkets, when i break, he does not get angry and lash... he restores and heals the broken-hearted.

Love this!

When my kids or someone else's kids, or the lawncare people destroy something of mine, I keep repeating "people are more important than....". It's been hard, more with the lawncare people than my own children, but we are all God's children, all precious. After biting my tongue, I practice forgiveness which doesn't always come as easily...

Mommy Emily said...

oh friend. i'm afraid of breaking too. thankfully he loves to put us back together... what a tender-hearted, raw post. loved it.

Unknown said...

you are so wise. Thank you for this post.

I will pray for you.

Julie@One Penny Jumble Packet said...

I understand that feeling -- trying to teach kids to be careful, but then being merciful when they accidentally wreck things. Both are necessary. If the items had no value, then the mercy and forgiveness wouldn't be real. But I think if our kids were to indicate which had the most value to them -- the bauble or the grace -- I have a feeling they'd pick grace.