Humpty Dumpty - It's Okay to Feel Broken

“Life always waits for some crisis to occur before revealing itself at its most brilliant.” ~Paul Coelho.

I was reaching into the fridge to pull out a corning ware bowl; I bumped my elbow, and lost the bowl. There was shredded glass all over the stone floor. If Humpty Dumpty was an egg, then how did all the kings’ men put him back together again? There was no way of putting a 1,000 piece corning ware bowl back together again.  Luckily, no cuts when sweeping up the mess and tossing it away. 

Do you feel you are in a mess? Life happens and it seems like everything falls to pieces. It is a challenge to figure out what piece to start with and to move into a zone of being focused on putting it all back together. Maybe people give up on you and shut you out of their life because they don't like the positive changes you have made. 

Life can be challenging. Picking up the pieces to start over is difficult. There are some who will never forgive the wrong they have been done to them. There are some who want the control and will hold the past over your head. Therefore, why subject yourself to unhealthy people and their thinking when there are positive changes of moving forward with improvements in your life?

I find it interesting that some people go to work and don’t smile. Some go to worship with a smile, but life is a mess. Most do not want others to know what is going on in their life without the fear of rejection. We live in a culture where perfection is to be obtained. Don’t believe me? Then why are there so many commercials on beauty that focuses on skin, weight, hair or other parts of the body? Why do commercials state the following: “buy our product” and see the enhancement of your life?

We tend to run, when we should stand still. In our culture, men have been told not to cry and suck it up and move on. This is not healthy for anyone to not shed a tear and be emotional. When we are faced with dilemma and we fall to our knees praying, it is time to realize it is okay to be broken or to feel okay to be not okay.

“Hope is the feeling that the feeling you have isn’t permanent.” ~Jean Kerr 

Sometimes we allow our life to be run by others and what others think of us. We let our life be ran by a meaning of “instead”.  Instead of ending an unhealthy relationship most will stay and avoid confrontation to experience a sense of control. Instead of leaving a demanding endless job to find a new one, we stay and complain about it. Instead of dealing with the feelings we minimize the pain and accept it as the reality.

It is okay to accept the fact you are broken and in a not okay state. It doesn’t mean you are a mess and you are to be thrown away. How do you “glue” yourself back to a “normal state”?  Give yourself the permission to be broken and from there you can be made whole again. 

How?

 “Change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change.” ~Wayne Dyer

First, learn to accept your life as it is right now. It doesn’t matter the situation and look at it as areas of prospects of growth. Accept your mistakes, then let go by forgiving yourself by relinquishing your fears, stress and those who may blame you or try to control you by holding the past over you. Mediation helps clear the mind and negativity and recreates a renewing of your mind to focus on the positive. 

Second, set your emotions aside and become a Star Trek “Spock” and become analytical for a moment. Observe your situation and create a plan of action, but not reaction. Learn to develop an honest look at your reactions. Do you jump to conclusions? Do you feel you need approval? Do you feel you have to please others? 

Finally, I had to learn God uses broken people. Regardless of your relationships, mistakes you done in your past, or those who want to confine you to your mistakes, it’s time for a change. Discover ways to take responsibility for your joy. We may not be able to minimize the feelings of brokenness, but we can pick different things to have a basis of enjoyment, for ourselves and those around us. Accept it is okay not to be okay and sometimes we need to feel broken in order to recreate ourselves into a better place and situation. Leave behind those who will ridicule you. Leave behind those who do not mentally supply you with a sense of healthiness. 

Like a butterfly, emerge from the cocoon you have gently wrapped yourself up in and begin to fly with new energy. Surround yourself with those who are positive and will encourage you and not attack you. Develop a sense of healthiness by creating new healthy boundaries which are productive to help you reach your goal.

By putting my faith on His anvil it was a challenge in my life. I made plenty of mistakes. My brokenness and mistakes are no different from yours and vice versa. Therefore, we need to pull ourselves together and realize we can make a difference by using our broken lives to fit into the puzzle of life. I admire artists that take broken dishes to create a beautiful master piece. You may not look like the original dish, but now you are a piece of art work for others to admire. 

By Faith, 

Forging Attitude In Trusting Him

Slow down, lest we forget our Purpose

It can be a busy day; often times there are more busy days than the lack of them.  The busyness twirls the mind around like a fair ride that can leave you dizzy and wondering why you got on the ride in the first place. Life can be like that ride and depending on what you make of it will determine if you desire to enjoy the fun or decide to never to get on the scary ride again.

Or you leave one room for another room with a set purpose in mind. Once you get to your destination, there you become side-tracked and forget your purpose for going there in the first place. You become frustrated because you knew you had to do something, but now cannot quite put the finger on it. No matter how many reminders you might have, no matter how many times you try to remember, it eludes you like a wild animal breaking free from your grip.

Our attitudes may define who we are if we are not careful. It is easy to adapt and to relax and become the situation. Almost like a frog in a cold kettle set over a fire that slowly becomes accustomed to the heating water, until it is boiled. How often do we forget our purpose in life? How often do we forget our role in our marriage? How often do we forget who we are as an individual? Many have said that they ‘lost their identity’ and that they are now ‘finding themselves.’

When we lose sight of our main focus we tend to forget. We forget who we are. We lose that identify and purpose for our life. Oftentimes it is like chasing the wind as it carries a piece of paper, our life.  That paper is a written note proclaiming who we are and where we are to go with an intent purpose in mind.

For some people, they seek definition of who they are through their friends. They seek others for approval of their relationships.  They seek others for happiness. They seek their life in this or in that, yet end up empty each and every time. They feel if they tried harder, focused harder, the answer they sought would be found.

 One passage in the bible has always intrigued me. Jesus knew the hearts of men. Just like the night of his betrayal and before it even happened, Jesus explained to Peter that he would deny Him three times and as a reminder of what He told Peter, a rooster would crow after the third denial. This was so that Peter would believe and remind him of what his heart did. Yet, that is not the passage I had in mind.

The passage begins in John 5.  John writes about a man who came to the healing pool daily. He had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. He came to the pool to be healed because angels would come down and stir the water and who entered the pool first would be healed. Jesus knows the hearts of men, but today was different than any other day. Jesus approached the man and He asked the man, “Do you want to be healed?” Why? If I have a purpose of going somewhere then I know why I am there. The man wanted to be healed. Jesus knew it. Why did Jesus notice the man with this question and not heal him like he did countless others?

Jesus wanted to awaken the purpose. We forget who we are and what we are to become when we become busy in our life, or when we tell our self lies, listen to others. While our intent of our purpose is the desire to be healed, we forgot what to do. Misplaced keys, misplaced cell phone because we became intense on the side attractions and so busy we forget to create a memory of where we put our item so that we can retrieve it later.  Have you forgotten the purpose of why you came to Christ and have forgotten how to live? Maybe religion has suffocated you and snatched the true freedom you were called to be in. Maybe it was a marriage that suffocated you in not reaching your full potential. It might even be selfish thoughts, which have prevented you from obtaining your full potential. Sometimes it can be the distraction or the self-defeat thoughts we tell ourselves that we are never good enough. I will never reach my goal, so what is the use. The invalid man in John 5 told Jesus that he couldn’t roll into the pool and that no one would ever help him, and thus, that he would never be healed. He lost sight of his purpose.

What is your purpose in life? Do you want to be healed? Find that inner voice deep and focus on Christ that will give you the power and the energy to walk and to be healed. The question to ask is, “Are you willing to take the first step that might seem so unnatural at first?” We have to rid ourselves of the past in order to walk the past. To rid the past is through forgiveness of us and others. To be healed is to understand that the power is not in the water. The power is in our determination to focus on Christ and doing what He commands us to do. The next time you feel misplaced, look up and pray and stay in constant communication with Him. He is reminding us every day our intentions and purpose of walking with Him. Others may say too fast to soon, not to do this, not to do that, but is it the will on man’s voice or the will of the Father that knows best? Be still and focus on Him and listen to his voice and you will find that purpose He has placed into your heart.

Will you be courageous enough to take the first step and walk?

The next time life deals you with a blow and you feel paralyzed, do not forget your intent and purpose of where you are going. When we walk with Him, he will guide us into the paths of righteousness. Are you willing to have the faith that Forges Attitude In Trusting Him?

Clay to Pottery

I enjoy spring and fall. Watching the Monarch butterflies migrating in August and September is breath taking. Ever watch a caterpillar become a butterfly? A caterpillar cannot become a butterfly without the struggles of coming out of its cocoon. If you give the butterfly help it will die. The struggle it endures strengthens its wings in order for it to fly. When there is no struggle the butterfly is weak and will die.


How does this work with people? Moses stuttered. John and Mark were rejected by Paul. Timothy had ulcers. Hosea's wife was a prostitute. Amos' only training was in the school of fig-tree pruning. Jacob lied. David had an affair. Solomon had too many wives and concubines. Jesus was too poor and wasn't schooled in the right religious institutions. Abraham and Sarah were too old. David was too young. Peter was impulsive. John had a temper. Naomi was a widow. Paul was a murderer, as was Moses. Jonah ran from God. Gideon and Thomas both doubted. Jeremiah was depressed. Elijah was burned out. Martha worried too much. Matthew was a despised tax-gatherer. Noah had a drinking problem."


Wow and I thought I had problems. Trying to shove these skeletons back into my closet before they start wanting to party. After going through the situations I have been through I have noticed it made me stronger. God also uses our weaknesses for His purpose and His glory.

It was the thorough breaking down of Jacob’s natural strength at Penile that got him where God could clothe him with spiritual power. It was by breaking the surface of the rock at Horeb by the stroke of Moses rod, which it let out the cool waters to thirsty people. It was when the three hundred elect soldiers under Gideon broke their pitchers, a type of breaking themselves, which the hidden lights shone forth to the consternation of their adversaries. It was when the poor widow broke the seal of the little pot of oil, and poured it forth, that God multiplied it to pay her debts and supply means of support. It was when Esther risked her life and broke through the rigid etiquette of a heathen court that she obtained favor to rescue her people from death. It was when Jesus took the five loaves and broke them that the bread was multiplied in the very act of breaking, sufficient to feed five thousand. It was when Mary broke her beautiful alabaster box, rendering it henceforth useless, that the pent-up perfume filled the whole house. It was when Jesus allowed His body to be broken to pieces by thorns and nails and spear that his inner life was poured out like a crystal ocean for thirsty sinners to drink and live.


It is when a beautiful grain of corn is broken up in the earth by death that its inner heart sprouts forth and bears hundreds of other grains. And thus on and on, through all history and all biography, and all vegetation, and all spiritual life, God must have “Broken Things”.
Surely God wouldn't want to use broken things. However, those who are broken in wealth, in self-will and in ambitions, broken in beautiful ideals and in worldly reputation; oft-times in health, despised, utterly helpless and forlorn, God seizes upon them and uses for His glory. It is the “lame that take the prey” Isaiah tells us. It is the weak that overcome the Devil. God is waiting to take hold of our failures and nothingness and shine through them.

Some people are like wheelbarrows; useful only when pushed, and very easily upset. The time to stop talking is when the other person nods his head affirmatively but says nothing. God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever.

Sometimes your medicine bottle has on it, "shake well before using." That is what God has to do with some of His people. He has to shake them well before they are ever usable. The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps. We must step up the stairs.

2 Corinthians 12:10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Philippians 4:13 13I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Thank God, He isn't through with me yet. I am thankful and yes, hindsight is twenty-twenty. Now instead of looking back I look at the present in the way God provides opportunities to use my weaknesses and problems to help further His message. I am still the clay and He molds me and forms me into His pottery to serve others.


God loves you no matter what situation you are in. God is at work in your life - even when you do not recognize it or understand it. But it's much easier and profitable when you cooperate with Him. Don’t look at your life as having problems. Look at it as God is preparing you and strengthening you to become a better person. Don’t give up hope. Be patient and open your eyes to the unseen world that God works in us to help spread his message:
God loves you! No matter what situation you are in.