I just watched an episode of the “The Brady Bunch” where Peter breaks his moms’s favorite vase.

The kids join forces to glue the vase back together. Only to have it leak water all over the dining room table. Revealing it’s brokenness and less than perfect restoration.

Peter finally confesses but the vase was beyond repair.

It reminded me of an amazing illustration of how God works with broken humanity.

I’ve witnessed this illustration used a few different times and every time it communicates deeper than the words used in the presentation.

Kintsugi is a Japanese method for repairing broken ceramic pottery. Instead of discarding the bowl, cup, or plate, it is repaired in a unique way. Making it more than a simple dish, it could even be considered a work of art.

A special adhesive mixed with gold or silver is applied between broken pieces and the pieces are brought back together. Often the pottery is more beautiful then before. The idea is not to hide the brokenness but to highlight and honor it.

Because the dish is more interesting when it has a story.

Kintsigi can be translated to “the golden journey” or “repair with gold”, it is a wonderful illustration of what God can do with broken people.

Multiple times in the Bible, it says that God is close to the broken hearted. Many stories of God rescuing, restoring, and renewing are found in scripture. Maybe you know the scriptures, and maybe you’ve heard those stories.

But I hope you know this, you can be one of those stories.

If you give your broken pieces to God, He can make something more beautiful than before. You past, your mistakes, the wrongs you’ve done, the wrongs that have been done to you, all of it can be part of a graceful journey when God is involved.

But the kintsugi expert can’t do the amazing work without all the pieces, and God can’t revitalize you without all of yours.

God won’t force His way into your life, He won’t take the pieces from you without your permission. But, He will ask you to let go of them and let Him do His work.

You are valuable to Him.
Your healing is valuable to Him.
Your story is valuable to others.

Let God have the pieces, trust Him with the process, and watch what He produces.

Don’t be surprised if the broken areas are now the most interesting and encouraging places in your life.

Be a story of God’s grace.
See the story of Gods Grace in others.
And share your story so others will know that nothing is too broken for God.

-Tom Wise