Broken to Whole

Gardeners cut and prune their plants… so they can grow more.

Construction workers have to break down the old… before they can build the new.

Blacksmiths have to hammer and mar… shaping the metal to fit the mold.

Potters have to cut and smash and use brute force… for the clay to yield to their hands.

Christ had to be crucified and killed… in order for us to live with Him again.

There’s an interesting pain/growth symbiosis found in life, isn’t there? The end results can be beautiful, but the journey?

Not always so.

Friends, I’ve been keeping a secret from you. A few months ago, some ladies from church set me up with a kind, godly guy. And well, as of a couple days ago, that guy’s now my boyfriend. Which is great. Amazing. Such a blessed relationship from the Lord, you have no idea.

But its new. And scary. I’d just started feeling comfortable with our ‘just going on dates’ title, that the shift to ‘dating, dating’ has thrown me for a bit of a loop. The title of girlfriend has a lot of responsibilities and expectations attached to it (in my mind, at least), and frankly, girl friending has not been my strong suit in the past (I mean, I literally wrote a book about my crummy relationships, that’s how bad they were).

That being said, the Lord’s been reminding me that He is doing a new thing (Is 43:19). Who I was two years ago—two months ago, even—is not who He’s molded me to be today. And as I’m adapting to this new season of life, I have a feeling that God’s gonna make it riddled with growing pains…

Cutting and pruning away the old my worth is found in my boyfriend’s words, not God’s mindset that—I can tell—is already starting to rear its ugly head.

Breaking down the belief that I have to be perfect and hide all my flaws, or else he’ll leave me.  

Hammering and marring the what ifs—we break up, we get married, we ruin each other’s lives, we live happily ever after—right out of my overly-anxious mind.

Cutting and smashing away the compulsion to scheme and plan and do everything in my power to feel in control, when the Potter’s guiding hand is the only thing that truly is (Jer 18:6).

Crucifying my flesh—sin and unbelief and selfishness and insecurity and angst—so I can enter into this new, glorious, life-giving season of my life.

Because regardless of the outcome of my newfound relationship, I trust that this growing pains season will be life-giving. After all, it’s come about by the Potter/Gardener/Carpenter/Refiner/Savior’s hand (wow, so many names for our Awesome God. Ha! There’s another one!), and all He does is good (Ps 100:5).

So try to embrace the pains, my dear readers, for He’s working with your best interest in mind (Rom 8:28). Whatever discomfort He’s leading you through right now… can result in a breathtakingly beautiful restoration.

Our Healer is making us whole, piece by broken piece.