Imagine walking into a high-end, luxury store full of beautifully sparkly things. ( I know I have the ladies excited and the men terrified…). Imagine seeing shelves full of beautiful crystal vases. You think, “I wonder how much that one costs.” I know they say, ” if you have to ask, you can’t afford it”, but you are just so curious. You take a peek and, whoa, that is A LOT of money for something so beautiful and so fragile. Then you notice another, identical vase, with a chip on the bottom and a small crack near the top. Instantly, you begin to plan in your mind how you can hide the chip and position the vase so that the crack is never seen. This beautifully, luxurious item can be yours!! You pick up the vase and you know there must be a mistake. Why in the world would the broken vase cost MORE money than the flawless one? They must of confused the tags. Why would such a beautiful store even have the vase on the sales floor? Who would pay more for a broken, precious item?? Who would want such a thing?

Jesus would. As a matter of fact, God Himself puts a very high price on broken things. It doesn’t take a deep Biblical scholar to recognize that God chooses flawed things and broken people to create miracles. Jesus was drawn to broken vessels.

Many times in my life, I fight to make the cracked pieces of my life appear beautiful or to try to hide the breaks. Honestly, it’s exhausting. Just like buying the broken vase with a plan to conceal the flaws, I am constantly conscious of where my cracks, scars, and failures are. They glare at me in the mirror and the enemy loves to remind me of how many times and how many ways I have failed. Like a tired 3 year old, pitching a good old fashioned temper-tantrum, I eventually give up, wipe my tears, and say, ” God, I quit. It’s too much work to redeem this mess”. Every time I have confessed my exhaustion and frustration, I feel the still, small voice of God say, ” Good, my child. Now I can be God in your pain.”

Almost every blessing I have has come after a mess. Sometimes I made the mess; other times the mess was handled to me on a broken platter. God is the God of the broken. He makes “beauty from ashes”, which if you think about it is impossible for me. It’s impossible for you too.

So, back to my vase in the beautiful store story. In God’s eyes, brokenness opens an opportunity for Him to be glorified.  Why would He desire to do such a thing?  Because broken vessels that recognize their brokenness are ready to recognize the great Restorer. God shines through those of us that are broken and flawed because our confidence and faith in Him and not in us. We are fragile, my friends. We are beautiful in God’s eyes. Our sin and sinful nature is ugly and destructive. Broken things become beautiful things when the Creator of the universe is allowed to shine through it.

When you accept Christ, you are a broken vessel purchased at a high price. You are so unbelievably precious that Jesus Christ died for YOU. Romans 5:8 reminds us, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” He died for our sin and our sin destroys us.

Learn to embrace your brokenness. Broken vessels have a story to tell, encouragement to give, and wisdom to share.  In your broken state, whether you feel like you have  a small crack or you have been shattered into a million pieces, you are priceless to your heavenly Father. Let Him take you, just as you are, and make a mess into a miracle.

Courtnay Aycock