Brokenness: What If Humpty Dumpty Could Be Put Back Together?
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.
We all remember this nursery rhyme from our childhoods. Did it make you sad that no one could put Humpty Dumpty back together? For me it was just a nursery rhyme. But what if Humpty Dumpty was real? Then it would be sad if not tragic. Things that are broken typically are discarded. People that are broken typically are… well. Some consider them as damaged goods with no perceived value.
Wouldn’t it wonderful if it was possible to put someone broken back together and turn that brokenness into something beautiful?
Can there actually be beauty in brokenness? I believe there can.
I really love the second part of this quote.
You don’t need another human being to make your life complete, but let’s be honest. Having your wounds kissed by someone who doesn’t see them as disasters in your soul but cracks to put their love into is the most calming thing in this world.~Emery Allen
Pictured above is an example of the ancient Japanese art of kintsugi which means “golden joinery.” Artisans take broken pieces of pottery and carefully re-assemble them using a lacquer resin mixed with powdered gold, silver or platinum. Rather than hiding the cracks, kintsugi accentuates them. It’s a beautiful metaphor for life.
But how can we put this metaphor into action? Here’s one idea.
Embrace the brokenness in your life. By that I don’t mean wallow in self-pity. Our life’s stories are sometimes filled with periods of brokenness. There are cracks in our armor. Scars we desperately try to hide from others. Don’t try to hide from those broken pieces. Rather, embrace them! Accentuate them! Our cracks, our scars, the fissures in life exhibit to others a life lived, a life that has prevailed.
Ask yourself. In how many ways can I embrace and accentuate those broken pieces?
Those cracks, those scars and those fissures DID NOT break you! They made you stronger!
There is indeed beauty in brokenness!
But let’s not stop there. Consider this quote.
Ask yourself. How can I help heal those who don’t talk about their brokenness?
Is it showing my own brokenness to others in order to give them hope?