The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18
While the beach has a calming effect on the kids, letting them release their energy, it has the opposite effect on me. I watch the twins run in different directions –one towards the water and the other away–and I feel the tightness in my shoulders clench, or maybe that’s my jaw clenching. Maybe bringing six kids to the beach was a mistake.
But no, with family in town visiting, there are plenty of extra hands to help and eyes to watch them. And thankfully, the breeze is refreshing and the sun feels great on my back.
The kids splash each other in the shallow water, shrieking gleefully when the waves crash into their knees. I love that they are having so much fun. My daughter, presently preoccupied searching for shells, suddenly springs up from kneeling in the sand and races to me, opening her fist to reveal her treasures.
“Mama, look! I’m going to bring all these beautiful shells home!”
Perplexed, I raise my eyebrows. “They’re pretty but don’t you want the whole shells instead of these broken ones?”
She looks at me, her forehead creasing in a frown, as if she doesn’t understand my rationale. To me, the whole shells are beautiful and more valuable than unattractive, pieces of shells.
She said, “But why would I want whole ones? The broken ones have been through so much and are still here, washed up on the shore, waiting for me. Those are the ones I want.”
She spun around, splashing back through the water, the broken shells protectively clenched in her fist. I stand, stunned, wondering when she has gotten so smart and compassionate.
Sometimes I feel broken, like the shells she searched for, roughed up by the waves and slammed into the jetty, breaking off pieces at a time. Or forced apart by fish and other sea life, searching for a snack, leaving the broken pieces to wash up on the shoreline.
Busy times combined with heartbreak chip away at my exterior leaving my vulnerable to the elements. The sand and salt water of the world wear away my shell until there are only broken pieces left.
Do you ever feel broken?
Just like my daughter valued the broken shells, God treasures us and all our broken pieces. He’s with us every time we are battered by the gritty sand or busted open by a seagull in search of sustenance. He loves you and me and he cares about us.
He’s compassionate to the pain we experience because he experienced it first with Jesus. He sees the sleepless nights, the endless worries, the loss of appetite, the weeping. He sees our souls and he hurts with us.
We’ve been battered by the waves, chipped at by birds’ beaks, split open by sea creatures and we have washed up on the shore, just waiting. Waiting for someone to come along and claim us as treasure. You don’t have to wait any longer. God wants every part of you, even your chipped up shell, as his own treasure.
We aren’t defined by our brokenness, but deemed treasures by a perfect, living God.
So the next time you feel broken, remember, there’s beauty in brokenness and the Creator of the world treasures you. You’re not alone and neither am I.
