As Libby and I walked on the beach, she would pick up broken shells to put in our bucket. I would quickly dismiss them and throw them back to the sand or water. This activity went on again and again until finally, Libby looked at me with her curly cue hair and bright eyes, "Don't we love the broken ones too?" I remember answering the question with a resounding no because they aren't whole, making them ugly. But, I could see immediately it broke her little heart. So, at the end of our walk, we had a bucket full of broken shells.
Later, at the beach house, I was sifting through our findings for the day and washing off the sand, even from the broken ones. I reminded myself that we are all broken in some way. We live in a fallen world, which by default makes us broken people. At that moment, I also realized that was my current state of life, broken into pieces. Still, instead of being ugly to God because I wasn't whole, it made me beautiful to Him.
The Lord died for our sins and our brokenness. He wants to catch every tear in His nailed scar hand, to heal our minds and hearts from trauma caused by the world, and to bring us peace in a time of unrest. When you are at your worst, allow Him to do a mighty work.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18