Beauty in the Broken

A friend recently told me about a Japanese aesthetic philosophy called "Wabi-Sabi." Wabi-Sabi finds beauty in the broken. It's best characterized by simplicity and an embracement of imperfections. Kintsugi is a method for repairing broken ceramics that is based on this philosophy. The Kintsugi Artist will use a special lacquer mixed with gold to visibly highlight the repair instead of disguising it. The once broken piece of pottery is not only "good as new" it is more valueable and beautiful than it was before. Another intersting fact about Kintsugi is that no two patterns are the same, with each golden stream's path depending on the pattern of the break.

Thankfully, this process of finding beauty in broken things didn’t originate 500 years ago in Japan. Truth is, we're all uniquely broken from past hurts and failures. Our cracks are obvious, and we shouldn't hide them. Instead, we should let the Great Kintsugi Artist have His way with our broken lives. I love what the Bible says. “If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”(2 Corinthians 5:17) I guess we might as well embrace the beauty of our brokenness. This message never gets old...esspecially if your last name happens to be "Faile D."

Be encouraged today, and always remember...In Christ, you can "take pleasure in your weaknesses..." (2 Corinthians 12:10)

(photo from: http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/05/kintsugi-the-art-of-broken-pieces/)