Broken Pieces

Can you remember the last time that you combed the beach looking for seashells? The gentle roll of the surf interrupted by the occasional pound of a big wave that takes you by surprise.

The seagulls call out overhead and distract you just enough to lose your concentration. As you pass by a busy beachfront property teeming with frisbee throwers and toddlers building castles in the sand, you look forward to that secluded spot just a bit further down the beach.

On my most recent trip, my barefeet were worn smooth before I found a seashell to deem as, ‘perfect’. I held on to it and thought about what I would do with it when I got back home.

As I strolled along I noticed so many broken shells. Some were twisted and jagged. Others looked like they were snapped in half. Each one was different and some looked like they would hurt if you stepped on them.

I decided to toss the perfect one back into the sea and started to pick up the curious, odd and broken shells. Before too long I had a stacked handful. There were so many more broken shells than perfect ones. I had just passed over all of these before, I even stepped around and over some to avoid them.

What could I do with this handful of broken pieces? I found a smooth plot of beach far enough away from the surf where I could lay all of them out and inspect them more closely. If only I had the eye of an artist, maybe I could put them all together like a puzzle and make something really interesting.

Like a child drawing stick figures with a crayon, my simple project started to take shape. My original intent was to make angel wings but what I got instead was an arrow pointing back to the sea.

If you think about it for just a minute, it is easy to make the spiritual analogy. We are all broken people. It would be easy to see how broken people are more likely to hurt others if they are stepped on.

God is the master artist. He can put all of our broken pieces together to make something beautiful. At the very least, He can use us to point others to the source of grace and mercy through Jesus Christ.

Next time you are at the beach, remember God can make something beautiful out of broken pieces.