Why Am I So Broken?

Why Am I So Broken? Written by Mikaila Bisson During my Wednesday night pottery class, a piece I was working on broke during the firing process. My teacher, in the same breath as telling me how to fix it, mentioned “kintsugi”—the Japanese form of fixing pottery with gold to make it even better. Maybe it’s just me paying attention, but the world seems to be obsessed with taking something broken and making it better. Especially, it seems, as we’re noticing the cracks of our broken world more and more. By extension, maybe we’re noticing our own brokenness and are wondering how we can make that better, too. When thinking about my brokenness, I often defer to the much-quoted verses of Psalm 139:13–14. I used to put these verses in the context of my personal appearance, conveniently skipping over the very first part of verse 13: “For you created my inmost being” (emphasis added). That means that, yes, God created our appearance, but he also created our inner self—our likes, dislikes, heart, and soul. Even more than that, he understands those things and knows what we struggle with—what we consider broken. He’s able to take our broken pieces and repurpose them, even using them for good. Ultimately, he showed us this by Jesus’s death and resurrection. God took the epitome of brokenness—death—and used it to transform our lives, taking us from the grave and giving us new purpose. Now whenever I see my broken pottery piece, I’m reminded that God can bring good from any situation, even mine.