Broken Pieces

I spent some time this week picking up seashells on the beach. The truth is that I did not pick up even one whole shell. I collecting shards of seashells, broken pieces of what was once wonders of nature. So I contemplated what I would do with the broken seashells, and I determined that I would create a piece of wall art with the shell pieces.

My favorite shells, in fact, are the broken ones, the ones that have been dashed against the rocks and coral and yet somehow made it to shore. If you’ve never seen a broken shell, you’ve never seen the full beauty of a shell. If you’ve never seen a broken Tritan’s Trumpet shell, you’ve never seen the winding beauty of the core of the shell. If you’ve never seen a broken Cowry Shell, well, you’re missing an unusual work of nature.

You see, even though they are broken, the pieces have beautiful markings, each one a different pattern, each one colored differently. In fact, because you don’t have a perfectly shaped shell, the colorful markings become the focus. I think I can create something beautiful by putting together these broken seashells.

It is also true of our lives. We often find ourselves broken, having to do the best we can to gather the broken pieces of our selves and create something beautiful. Fortunately, I have learned not to discard the broken pieces of myself. I have learned, instead, to pull together my brokenness and re-create a worthy self.

We don’t get through this rocky, stormy life whole. But we do have every opportunity to make something beautiful out of our broken pieces. I hope you will do just that.