BROKENNESS

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Ps 34.18

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

Ps 51.17

Brokenness – such a sad word. Sometimes we break things that just cannot be put back together and sometimes we ourselves feel so broken that we cannot ever imagine feeling whole again. Our brokenness may be the result of an action that is done to us or we may unintentionally break something precious because of what we do. We may even break something intentionally because we feel that in the longterm, that is the right decision. Sometimes brokenness is forced upon us, such as when we face a bereavement. Whatever the reason brokenness causes pain and heartache with the fallout leaving lasting damage that may never resolve. It may get buried under layers of coping strategy but deep down inside of us there may still be a hairline fracture.

One of the effects of lockdown for many is the inability to continue masking our true selves behind constant activity. When we are able to divert ourselves from thinking about painful episodes in our past we perhaps believe they are of no consequence. Lockdown has given many of us more time to think. Our hearts are laid bare and unwelcome memories float to the surface of our consciousness. We are then faced with a choice. Either we bury them again, and find new ways to keep our minds occupied, such as binging on Netflix, listening constantly to music or audio books, or we allow the difficult memories to materialise and we face them.

Acknowledging the brokenness within ourselves is a brave thing to do and a little scary. Yet it is part of our human frailty that I believe God recognised and is therefore one of the reasons Jesus came to earth to live among us, “to heal the broken hearted”. Trusting in a God who loves us when we ourselves are feeling broken and alone, vulnerable in our hurt and pain, can lead to healing and restoration of our spirits. Knowing that we can be forgiven for any wrong doing that may have caused us to hurt someone else, enables us to move forward in our lives. Jesus willingly takes our burden of brokenness upon himself so that we no longer need to carry it. He brings comfort into the darkness of our being and offers the promise of his light and love to sustain us and give us renewed hope for the future. Often he brings alongside us a person we can trust not to be judgemental, who will listen to our story and support us as we face past hurts and come to terms with them. Someone who will enable us to recognise the love that God has for each of us as his precious children, uniquely formed in his own image.