Our Brokenness

My wife Deborah wrote something on her fb page that I want to share here today.

"The Scriptures talk about how God bind's up our wounds and heals our broken hearts.  I've heard many talks and read lots of writings about how we are "a broken people" and God wants to "make us whole."  I don't often feel broken.  Sometimes I feel sad and I don't know why.  Sometimes I get angry about little things for no reason.  But most of the time I go through my days amazed at how blessed I am and how few life wounds and battle weary scars I have.   Yet I've heard these words about brokenness so I've prayed "God, heal my brokenness, please show me where I am wounded." I have invited God to touch those places in my heart that I have kept hidden from him and even from myself.  Today, we decided to work on organizing our basement.  As I considered the daunting task ahead, I felt hesitant and slightly anxious at the thought of it but knew it had to be done in preparation for our heat pump coming on Thursday.  As we sorted through boxes of memorabilia, looked at old photos and documents, decorations, books and CD's my heart became heavier and heavier.  Each item had a memory, some very happy to be sure, but many represented dreams unfulfilled, time lost, relationships broken, and hopes not yet realized.  At the end of it all I came to one conclusion.  Oh how truly broken I am and how much I need God's healing touch to every cell of my wounded heart;  His breath on my cold bones, His gentle arms cradling that little girl inside who tried to be oh so strong only to hide her deepest hurt away in a box. So I remembered my prayers for healing and thought, "this time I'm not going to stuff that pain back in the box, nor give it away thinking that it will never return."  Instead I am giving my broken self to the only one I know who can put me back together, to the only one who's deepest longing is to make me whole.  This is my desire and my true joy so that the pure love with which He heals me can be poured out to all those He has given me the honor of sharing life with, to you my family and friends, to the stranger, the needy and to the broken.  Then maybe the next time there is a closet to clean or memories to unpack, I'll have a little more courage to jump right in and a little more joy about all that God has done to heal my own brokenness."