Golden Scars by Valerie Ronald

The centuries-old Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold is a perfect visual of creating beauty from brokenness. Kintsugi, meaning “golden joinery”, rather than rejoining ceramic pieces with camouflaged adhesive, uses a tree sap lacquer dusted with powdered gold. The conspicuous cracks become beautiful golden seams, emphasizing the breaks instead of disguising them. The Kintsugi method often makes the piece more exquisite and valuable than before it was broken.

I have no doubt that the gold dust of God’s love and mercy has mended my brokenness in beautiful ways, creating a vessel “as it seemed good to the potter to make.” If it weren’t for being shattered, I could not experience the deep healing and redemption only my Savior can offer. Not only does He heal but He does so in such a way that the mended broken places are made stronger and more useful. These golden cracks inspire much of my writing as I seek to use what God has taught me, to speak healing into the cracked lives of others.

A large part of my past life was spent doing damage control for myself and my children as we suffered at the hands of a sociopath. Clinging to my faith in God was the only way I could glimpse some semblance of hope, even while we were repeatedly manipulated, emotionally bullied and lied to by a man with no conscience. When I go back and read my journals from that time, I see a heart cracked and bleeding on the page, trying to process how to survive, calling out to God with the psalmist, “How long, Lord? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts, and day after day have sorrow in my heart?” (Ps. 13:1-2 NIV)

Amid the rampant breakage, I found writing gave me some solace and clarity. Reaching out to God, searching for help in His Word and writing my thoughts down, helped me pick up and carry the broken pieces, even if only for that day. I carried the pieces to Jesus, who saw intrinsic value in a pile of broken clay. He saved those pieces, and with care and love eventually recycled them into a useful vessel traced with scars of gold.

All this is to cast a light of discovery on my writing process. I am not a scheduled, planned-out, organized writer, although I do make writing a priority as it is essential to my well being. I am rather an organic writer because my craft has the characteristics of an organism, developing in the manner of a living plant or animal. The Holy Spirit is the gardener of new ideas, sought for in prayer. He never fails to plant a seed and illumine it in the creative part of my brain so I won’t miss it. Sometimes germination is slow, requiring time and nurture. This is where most of my work is done, in the “cracks” of my mind, emotions, and spirit. I may appear to be dormant but the organic process is working beneath a quiet surface. When the fruit is finally ripe, I sit down at my computer to flesh it out in words, mindful of the Spirit of God standing at my shoulder, guiding each stroke of the keys.

Pottery does not break in a clean pattern. The shattered pieces are irregular in size and shape, yet when they are mended they make a cohesive whole, a singular vessel. So it is when we break, because what causes the break is a blend of afflictions unique to each of us. When God works His “golden joinery” to put us back together, He already has in mind the way He will use us to bring glory to Himself. He knows my “off-the-grid” way of thinking and creating, and gives me freedom to write accordingly. If I were to be a more regimented writer I doubt my creativity would flow as freely or be as useful in coming alongside other broken pots to offer them encouragement and hope. The restoration of God in a broken life does not attempt to disguise the damage. His point is to render the fault-lines beautiful and strong, creating maps of gold for others to find their way. 

Valerie Ronald lives in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. She is a graduate of Vancouver's Langara College journalism program, and has worked as a newspaper reporter, freelance writer, public speaker and bookstore employee. Valerie finds being a member of the Manitoba Christian Writers Association has honed her writing skill and confidence. She writes devotionals for her home church bulletins and her online blog. Her current book project chronicles how God's faithfulness saw her through the dark valleys of divorce and cancer. Along with her husband, Valerie enjoys spending time with their blended family and six grandchildren. She is a nature photographer, water colorist, cat lover and Scrabble addict.

More of her devotionals can be read on her blog   https://scriptordeus.wordpress.com

Cracks: Good? Or Bad? by Ruth L. Snyder

The writing theme for May has to do with writing in the cracks of time. Although I am going to write about cracks, my post is not going to follow the theme in the truest sense of interpretation. Instead, I invite you to think about the idea of cracks and whether they are good or bad.

The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear the word, crack, is a meaning with a negative connotation. Something that is cracked is usually broken. A broken teacup is not able to be used for its intended purpose of drinking tea. Does that mean the teacup is worthless and needs to be thrown in the garbage? Not necessarily. Check out these twelve creative ways to use broken china.

When people speak of a person "cracking under pressure", that also has negative connotations. The phrase is used to describe someone who is not able to handle a certain type of stress, such as performing in public. We all have stress, but when that stress is more intense or lasts for a long time, some people have a mental breakdown. However, sometimes cracking under pressure is a good thing. Think about a lowly egg. If we could not crack the shell, we wouldn't be able to enjoy the egg and be nourished by it. The same is true of many nuts.

The crack of dawn could be seen as a positive thing if you are a morning person and you are looking forward to a new day with fresh opportunities. The crack of dawn would be seen as negative to someone on death row awaiting execution on that particular day.

We also talk about cracking the code. This is one of the few instances when the connotation is usually positive. To crack the code means you have solved a riddle, figured out a message, or found the answer to a puzzle. (Have you heard the fascinating story from World War II around secret code and how the Allies were able to crack that code?)

What about cracked jars? Good or bad? It depends! Cracked jars are not able to hold water or other liquids. Perhaps you have heard the parable of the cracked pot? The pot with the crack compared itself to another pot with no crack and felt worthless until the owner showed it how the crack created something beautiful.

In 2 Corinthians, godly people are compared to jars of clay.

"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us," 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 NIV.

God knows that we are cracked pots! He understands our sinful human weaknesses. We may be ashamed to let people see our cracks—hurting families, addictions, sinful choices, broken marriages. But God redeems those cracks in us. Those cracks are intended to bring us to our knees, admitting we cannot do life without God. When we repent and ask for help, He takes those cracks and allows His glorious light to shine through. He fills us with His light and then His light glows through our cracks to illumine the darkness around us. Others with the same cracks we have will feel like we understand. As we allow God's light to change us and shine through us, we often have opportunities to share the good news of the Gospel with those around us, dispelling the darkness of sin.

Are cracks good or bad? What do you say?

Beauty from the Broken Pieces by Sandi Somers

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Romans 12:12 ESV).

Lynn Simpson’s comment on my July blog became a prompt to start off our August theme: "Beauty can come from and grow in the most unexpected places! This includes our dark places when 'grappling with writing issues'". I have a sense that our theme of “Beauty” from July can continue into August, this time with an emphasis on rejoicing, patience and prayer in dark places when we struggle.

A number of years ago I went through a dark and silent time when life seemed to be moving backward, not forward. I was wrestling with brokenness in my health and a necessary career move. My wisdom was inadequate to comprehend God's purposes.

 One Sunday at church the soloist sang a beautiful piece that spoke into my need:

Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?

I have heard you calling you in the night.

 While I didn't recognize it at the time, God was singing over me with his love and compassion, reminding me of the Psalmist’s words, "His favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5 NLT). Sometimes God reminded me, "This difficult time is a time of tender preparation.” I couldn't see an order of God's plan, nor did I know how God was taking the broken pieces of my situation, and as the Master Artist, He was designing a new mosaic.

Mona Lisa of Galilee mosaic

After a time, God brought my situation together into a new design, piece by piece, reminding me now of the mosaics I saw in Israel. The details became clearer as He opened the way for me to teach English as a Second Language, first on a part-time basis and then full-time. My life flourished once again. The world was in my classroom and I discovered rich cultural perspectives, backgrounds and characters of my students—from over 130 countries. I also discovered an abundance of topics to journal and write about. But most importantly, I got to know and love people from all over the world, praying with and for them, meeting their educational and career needs, and helping them to adjust to life in Canada. I grew in empathy for our immigrants, a sensitivity I still carry today.

As I look back on that time of transition, I have a clearer perspective on some of God’s purposes. Scripture and other quotes helped me then and now in retrospect, and these may give you encouragement in your situation.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT).

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you (Isaiah 43:2 NLT).

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13 NLT). 

Do not force or push for anything. If nothing comes, continue to rest in God relative to that situation. If wisdom or a next step does not come, determine that you will respond faithfully as God makes your way clear. Ruth Haley Barton

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Now over to you. Take this month’s suggestion from Michelle Brown: How can you use the lead verse (above) in your writing when you are struggling to find your message; alternatively, how does this apply to your life or a circumstance you’ve been through?