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Beauty from Brokenness

October 19, 2020
By Doris Plummer

I love to see the frequent posts highlighting what is going on throughout the North Hills campus.  They allow us to see examples of students excelling as they build new skills and experience the joy of learning.  However, as I view those posts, I am often reminded of the back stories that accompany so many of our students - pasts marked by abuse or bullying, family dysfunction, diagnoses that impact children emotionally or cognitively, death of a parent… a list that seems to grow with each decade.  The beauty of God’s grace is that He can make all things beautiful in His time (Ecclesiastes 3:1).  We get to watch Him do just that.  We see Him take brokenness and restore wholeness.  We get to see Him provide His strength for those who are weak, His hope for those who are hopeless, His abundant mercies which are new every morning for those who need a fresh start.  God sees the potential in His children, regardless of  the back story, and He promises that all things will work together for good for those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).  Through the years I’ve seen Him do amazing things in the lives of students who were broken by the world when they entered our doors.  I’ve seen God impact hearts and minds… literally transforming them into new creations (II Corinthians 5:17) who go on to lead successful lives as they’ve followed God’s leading.  Although many still struggle with the same diagnoses or difficulties, they have learned to be overcomers through depending on their Heavenly Father.

When I walk the beach, I always collect shells.  Often my treasures  are only fragments of the original, but I’m drawn to see the beauty in the fragment.  I carry home a bag of broken pieces to remember my walks on the beach, where I’ve taken time to marvel at the hand of God and listen to Him speak.  On a recent walk, He reminded me that He has placed precious memories of each child with whom I’ve worked deep within my heart… a collection of beauty in the brokenness, and an opportunity to recall that Christian education allows educators to lead students to God, who redeems and restores.  He does the transforming, but we are privileged to be channels of grace in the process.

Minds:
Take a few moments to reflect on times when you’ve felt broken.  Identify ways that God restored you… then thank Him for the amazing work of His hand.  Then look around you and identify others who may be going through their own periods of brokenness.  

Hearts:
Pray for broken lives to be touched and restored.  Ask God to show you ways that  you might be used as a channel of His grace to those in need.