Have you noticed that God sometimes wraps His most important messages in the most unusual packages?
That was the situation a few years ago when my very naughty puppy launched herself onto the kitchen table, overcame obstacles, and sank her puppy teeth into my beloved Bible.
It must have been quite a Cirque du Soleil act as Sadie pulled that Bible to the floor, dragged it to her bed, and made much of it into confetti. I think she may have ingested large chunks of the old testament.
I’m sure you have one of these extra special bibles - it's the one that fits perfectly in your hands. The pages are well worn, you’ve written and highlighted most of it, and it holds sermons and messages that touched your heart over the years.
And for me, this Bible had traveled with me through the deepest valley of my life. Just a few years earlier, my husband of almost 20 years declared he was done. Done with me. Done with our family. And his decision to leave launched me into a long season of sorrow. There were days in that season that I didn’t know what to pray, so I would literally lay the bible on my face and plead with God to heal my broken heart.
And He did. He did indeed heal my heart, and much of the wonderfully broken journey was held in the pages of this now, very broken, very chewed up Bible.
I collected the chunks Sadie hadn’t eaten, and put all of the pieces in a ziplock bag. One morning in my devotions, as I held a different Bible on my lap, I found myself drawn to pluck out that broken Bible.
Leafing through the remaining pieces, my eyes landed on Is. 43:19: “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up, do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.”
In an instant my heart understood this message - God is in the business of redemption and renewal. The old has gone, the new has come. Letting go of the past frees us up to be moved into the next season God has for it.
And there’s more good news - God uses broken things all the time. The Bible is full of examples of people who have messy, broken stories, or felt inadequate or ill equipped to be used by God.
Our Samaritan sister at the well. Moses. Joseph. David. Paul.
Brokenness, shortcomings, mis-steps, and messy stories don’t render us useless. God brings beauty from brokenness. He did it then, and He continues to do it today.
So maybe you’re like me - holding onto the past a bit too tight and not leaving room for God to do His redemptive work.
Or maybe, also like me - you fear that you are unusable to God. You’ve believed the lie that your past is too broken or too messy.
But let me remind you, as God reminded me through that naughty puppy - God uses broken things all the time, and it's His heart's desire to do something new with you. He is standing by, ready to show you what immeasurably more looks like.
You can trust Him with all the bits and pieces. May this month bring you a renewed sense of hope and trust in the One Who has big plans for every part of your story.
Love, Nicole