#9 – Broken, in order to shine – April 25, 2024

               Psalm 51:8, “Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.”

               I can’t tell you how many times I have broken, or cracked, my little right toe.  It seems that little digit had a bad habit of sticking out, just for the sole purpose of causing me pain.

Last year, while climbing over the bathtub, my middle toe caught the metal rim.  As a result, it cracked the bone.  I hobbled around for a couple weeks because doctors can do nothing for a cracked, or broken, toe. Bedroom slippers became the norm for my footwear during that time.

But…my digits weren’t yet done with me.  Last week we took one of our cats to the vet to have his teeth cleaned.  When we brought him home, he was still under the influence of the anesthesia and the vet suggested we keep him inside for the rest of the day.  Even though he was still groggy and unsteady, he still wanted to go outside.

Around 4:30 that afternoon I went to get takeout for supper.  As I opened the door the cat decided to run the gauntlet and make his escape.  I tried to stop him.  He caused me to trip, fall down the steps, landing on the driveway (on my knees), and my hand went into the drainage ditch beside the porch.  As an end result…my finger next to my pinky is broke.  To make matters worse…it’s my right hand.  Yes, I’m right handed.

In response to the verse above…my broken finger has yet to rejoice.  I am thankful though in several ways; no broken hip, no broken knee-caps, and I didn’t hit my head…keeping what few brain cells I still have intact.

               It’s more than just our physical injuries that become broken.  We experience mental, emotional, and spiritual brokenness.  Thoughts of being unloved and unwanted lead us to brokenness and sometimes injuries.  Our emotional injuries of losing a loved one, a divorce, or worry can be devastating.  Our spiritual injury of not knowing where we stand with God (are we loved, are we truly saved, will God’s grace save my family) can be the most hurtful brokenness of all.

               We have all experienced one or all of those injuries.  Truth is…sometimes we have to be broken in order for us to heal and be better than before.  A little example is below:

               I read a story recently of a woman shopping at Dollar Tree.  She was standing in line behind a woman with two children; one older boy (around 8 or 9) and a toddler.  The older boy had a pack of glow sticks and the toddler was screaming for them.  The mom opened the pack and gave him one, which stopped his tears.  He walked around with it smiling but then the older boy took it from him and the toddler began to scream again. He wanted his glow stick back.

               Just when the mom was going to fuss at the older boy, he bent the glow stick and handed it back to his brother.

               As they walked outside, at the same time, the baby noticed that the stick was now glowing and his older brother said, “I had to break it so you could get the full effect from it; to make it shine”.

               At that moment the woman said her heart did a double beat. She could almost hear God speaking directly to her, “I had to break you to show you why I created you.  You had to go through it so you could get the full effect and to fulfill your purpose”.

               The baby was happy just swinging that “broken” glow stick around in the air because he didn’t understand what it was created to do, which was to SHINE.

There are people who will be content just “being”.  But some of us, that God has chosen, has to be broken.  We get sick.  We lose a job.  We go through a divorce.  We have to bury a family member or a close friend.  We go through so-called friends talking behind our backs; people who try to break our character all while smiling in your face…but not GOD!

               As you read the Bible you will see how God used broken people to accomplish His will; Moses (speech problem), Rahab (prostitute), Samson (womanizer), Jonah (ran from God), Samaritan woman (divorced), and so many others that were broken in one way or another.

               Jesus died and took upon Himself our brokenness.  Through His death and resurrection…we became unbroken.  And now, we can be that glowing Light for others to see.

               We have a Healer who knows all about our “injuries”.  He suffered brokenness too. But oh, how He did shine through it all!

               As I finish this article, my broken finger may not be rejoicing yet but I am…and with joy and gladness.  With the use of a fully capable left hand and three usable fingers on the right, I was able to type it out.  I just won’t mention how long it took me!

Praise God for His excellent healing powers in all aspects of our injuries!

Nancy Stoppe

Stoppe123@comcast.net