Dear Friends,
February? Where did January and my New Year’s Resolutions go? Yikes!
As we began preparing for Lent in the parish, I thought of what I would be doing and thought: what have I done with those wonderful New Year’s plans?! It wasn’t a great feeling; it was if my life shattered into pieces! Could I start over and do better this time in Lent?
As I was reading and reflecting, I came across a piece that I want to share, as I am sure I can’t be the only one who has felt broken and imperfect. I must pick myself up and put the pieces of my life together again. In Matthew Kelly’s book Life is Messy, he writes about a Japanese art form called Kintsugi, in which an artist gathers up the pieces of a broken object and glues them back together. They mix gold dust with the glue, which doesn’t hide the cracks but owns them, even honors them. They celebrate the cracks as part of the object’s story, and the object is even more beautiful than before!
Somehow, we have come to believe that if something is broken, it can never be as beautiful as it was before. The process of Kintsugi proves that this is incorrect! What was isn’t exactly the same, but it doesn’t mean it what has become can’t surpass its former self. We are all broken, and life can be messy, but do we allow ourselves to believe that? This is when change can happen.
After reading this and going on a little further into the book, I looked a little deeper into myself and realized that there were lots of broken pieces and there are ways in which I could fix them. Where is that gold glue?
Matthew Kelly writes: “If we put on the mind of God, we discover one of the most beautiful truths life has to offer. Something that has been devastatingly broken can be put back together in a way that makes it more beautiful than before. It is true for things and it is true for people, and it is true for you. This is the source and summit of Hope.”
This made me realize that we are all broken at some time or another but fortunately, even in our throwaway society, there does seem to be hope. I’m not a perfect as I thought; every life can be messy, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be beautiful again! We can pick up the pieces and glue them back together with gold, and create another beautiful life, claiming our brokenness and adding it to our story.
The best part is we don’t have to do it alone! Each of us has the gold dust needed to help glue others together and make them shine more brightly than before. Life is messy, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be beautiful. We need to claim our brokenness, pick up the pieces of our lives, and love the new creation as we glue them back together.
Take the time this week to look at your Messy Life and brokenness, and claim it! Find the gold glue that can help you come back together and grow. It truly is possible. Think also of those who have been wounded and may still have the gold glue you need or have needed in the past. Bless them, and pray for them.
Till next week,
Sister Theresita
