A One-Of-A-Kind Creation

This is Day 6 of my Write 31 Days series for 2017: 31 Days of Kintsugi.
For an index of all the posts in the series, click here.

One of the things I love about Kintsugi is that no two items repaired in this way are identical.

Just as the brokenness of each item is unique and individual, so is the pattern of golden threads that bind them back together.

Kintsugi does not take a mass-produced, cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approach, but instead each piece is individually hand-crafted to a unique design.  It truly is a labour of love, and I think this reflects God’s work in our lives.

“We are God’s masterpiece.”  (Ephesians 2:10 NLT)

Each of us is an individually hand-crafted work of art, a one-of-a-kind creation.  We each have different scars, and we each have different stories of restoration and healing.

Individually hand-crafted masterpieces take a lot more time and effort than mass-produced carbon copies, and the time and effort God devotes to working on his masterpieces speaks of our worth in his eyes.

A masterpiece takes time and commitment to create.  For a long time it may not look like anything special, but the artist perseveres because he has a vision for what it can be.  He can see in his mind’s eye how the seemingly random brush strokes and splodges of paint can come together to create beauty.  And because of this, it is worth it.

You are worth it.

Often the times of God’s individual work in attending to our brokenness can be the times we grow to know him more closely and intimately.

During one of the most difficult times of my life, as I was working through brokenness, I journalled up to ten pages a day.  At the time, it was my method of processing, of getting it out of my head and onto paper.  It was a way to examine my thoughts- to identify where lies were clouding my thinking, and to replace those with truth.

Now as I look back at those journals, I see a record of God’s work.  I see how he was binding up my pain with his golden threads, showing me that the truth in his Word was for me.  It had been very easy for me to believe it in my head but I struggled to let it sink in and reach my heart.  Those days of journaling and crying and praying were the days when it became real, when I truly believed in my heart for the first time that God cared for me.

Looking back I can see that part of the beauty God worked during that time was drawing me close to him and revealing his love to me in a unique and personal way.

Let me encourage you, if you feel broken today, to take some time with God to ask him how he sees you.  Connect with him in the way that suits you best: journaling, drawing, singing, praying, walking, sitting in silence… Ask him to draw close and to show you his love in the way that is right for you.

You are his unique, one-of-a-kind creation, and he has beautiful plans for you.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”  (Psalm 34:18 NLT)