Nothing is more peaceful than walking down the beach. Most people can’t resist bending over to pick up a few shells. From a distance, a shell often looks beautiful, complete, and unbroken. But when we actually pick it up, we see its flaws, cracks, and missing parts. At that point, we might toss it aside, thinking it’s not perfect.

In a way, we are all like shells. God made the broken as well as the complete. He can take the broken and transform them into something beautiful. Some of the most stunning artwork in the world is made from broken and partial pieces. As we go through this journey we call life, we might get chipped, scratched, or broken, and we may even lose pieces of ourselves. That’s when the deceiver pounces on us, instilling the fear that we are inadequate, ugly, or no longer whole. But, as Christians, we are given a definition of this emotion: FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real!

None of us know God’s complete plan, but we can trust that He has a purpose for each and every crack and chip in us. He can use what we see as our brokenness to help others and for His glory.