Beautifully Broken

As I reflect back on the past holiday season, I am reminded of how different the Christmas of 2021 looked compared to those of the more distant past.

Looking at my recent past, one might say that the last several months (or even the past year and a half) have been broken. From lost loved ones, to dealing with new, unexpected experiences, life has been full of ups and downs. I watched as coworkers left and moved onto other careers, and I saw numerous people I knew pass away due to illness. Some of the changes were expected, as people were laid-off due to covid, but some were more unexpected.

Christmas this year was the first where my children dealt with not having their dad there. It was the first in a long time where I didn’t have Christmas music blaring from Thanksgiving day until late on Christmas, and the first in several where my yard wasn’t fully decorated. It was just a different kind of Christmas this year.

But as the lights of Christmas fade into memories, I look forward into a New Year, and a new chapter. I look back at how broken things may have seemed, especially over the last several months, and realize this one major thing...something beautiful lies ahead. Not only for myself and my family, but each and every one who reads this. All of the broken pieces will fall into place, and will make a beautiful result.

If you take a plate and throw it on the ground, you will be left with hundreds of pieces that will never go back the way they were. However, if you take those same pieces and use them for something else, such as a mosaic garden tile, you can create a beautiful, new piece of art that was not possible before.

So, as we each move into a new year, take a bit of time to gather up those broken pieces that you thought were useless, and use them to share and form something better in your future. You just might find that your beautifully broken past leads to an even more beautiful future.