Through God we can experience physical, emotional and spiritual healing reflects Offaly columnist

FOR some reason God is having me reflect on the spirituality of brokenness as of late. Brokenness is something as humans we are all too familiar with. But because of God’s grace we are able to overcome our brokenness with His help and healing.

Have you ever felt broken? Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing something that has been broken with gold, with the understanding that the object is more beautiful because it has been broken. Like the art of kintsugi, God repairs the brokenness in our lives and makes us more beautiful through the process. For in the broken areas of our lives Jesus can fill us with himself.

My daughter Mia broke her leg and knee a few years ago when she was 12 years old. It happened accidentally while playing tag rugby. The scream that followed is still fresh in my mind almost six years later. The doctor wrapped her full leg after her serious operation in a bright red cast, and for a few weeks she took it easy, allowing herself to heal. But before too long, she was back out and about on crutches trying to keep fit with determination, her leg still wrapped inside its cast. Within months after the cast had come off and the long road of physio had begun, she was back on her bicycle, cycling hard with her once-broken leg.

When my wife and I first saw her on her bicycle, we gasped and ran towards her, certain she couldn’t withstand the movement. But she did. Her leg was strong and solid, and she was smiling. That which was once broken was now healed. The funny thing about healing is that something healed still holds the memory of its former brokenness. I still have a nasty scar of my own that serves as a reminder of a sports injury I experienced decades ago. The pain will always be part of my memory, but a miraculous healing has taken its place.

Through Jesus Christ, we can experience physical, emotional and spiritual healing. And though the pain may still be a part of our memory, Revelation 21:4 says that one day, “‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” . What a beautiful reminder that we should never be ashamed of our own brokenness and healing, because it is through that very brokenness and healing that we can encourage others.

Rock bottom

When I looked it up in the dictionary, the meaning I got for “broken” was this: reduced to fragments; fragmented; ruptured; torn; fractured; not functioning properly; out of working order. Is this how you feel? Do you feel like your heart has been reduced to fragments? Ruptured, torn, fractured? It really Hurts! It’s like your heart has been shattered into many pieces. You may feel crippled emotionally and exhausted physically. Every one of us has some sort of brokenness in our past. I know I have had a lot at times on my journey through life. Perhaps we have grieved from a broken heart, complicated situations, loss of a family member or loved one, loss of health, or relationships. Also experiences like rejection, abuse, trauma and other adversities in life could lead to a broken heart. Whether it’s from choices we have made or circumstances beyond our control, sometimes we find ourselves so profoundly broken that we don’t know how things could ever be restored.

Many of the events and experiences we have in life can leave us feeling broken. We see brokenness on a personal and social level every day, and may ourselves feel fragmented and shattered. It seems unavoidable. Trust me, it’s a very lonely place to be. It’s not something we can control; perhaps the most important thing is how we respond to it. We create barriers, turn away from one another, turn inwards, and live with fear. Often confronting our own brokenness is too painful, too disturbing, too much to handle, and rather than engaging with our own hurt we either lash out at others or shrink into ourselves. For some of us our response is to build walls, metaphorically and literally, to try and shut out those things which threaten or disturb us. I have faced some serious moments of brokenness and horrifying abuse at times in my life. There were points where the pieces of me were so destroyed that they weren’t just shattered; they were ground to dust.

After the horrifying abuse I suffered in my early years, the tragic loss of my beautiful niece Aoife recently, the death of several family members and friends, and my own health’s disintegration, what was left of me at those times was strewn across the pit called rock bottom. With a broken heart and no hope at times I found things awful difficult to keep going but keep going, I did thanks to God intervening at those points in my life.

Accepting Jesus into my life changed everything. He lovingly scooped up the pieces of my spirit and painstakingly put me back together, piece by broken piece. Where my heart had been ground to dust, He created a new one. Every time I suffer another break, He fills in the cracks with His love and life. God restores me and makes me complete again, like a broken bowl repaired by kintsugi. By now, my life certainly looks rather unique with all its gold-filled cracks and new pieces. But there is beauty in that brokenness and in what God did to redeem my story.

Ask God to help you, to strengthen you and to heal you. Hand it all over to Him, trust in Him and allow Him into those broken places. Life has a way of breaking us, but God knows how to put us back together. He can heal our broken spirit, but we have to give him all the pieces. He longs to restore us regardless of how many times we mess up or fall apart. Instead of just learning to live with our brokenness, we need to give it to God to fix. We cannot erase pain in this life, but we have a healer. He is the one who can fit the broken pieces of our lives that no longer seem to fit right into a perfect design. He is a restorer of all things. He is our Comforter and Counselor who fills our heart’s empty spaces. He will faithfully heal our wounds and renew our hope if we trust him to meet our deepest needs. With Him, brokenness can turn into blessing.

It is love

In the Christian spiritual tradition the foundation of this courage to face our brokenness is a simple one. It is love. In one of the ancient writings of our tradition, the First Letter of St John, God is described as being made of love. John also goes on to say “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear...”

Knowing ourselves completely and truly loved is the foundation of feeling safe, of feeling strong enough to face the worst both in and around ourselves. This love is tough, challenging, inspiring, powerful, accepting, and complete. It doesn’t come with conditions and we cannot do anything to deserve it or earn it because it is freely given and absolute. When Jesus was asked the most important law, or commandment, within his Jewish tradition he responded with a simple answer: “Love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind” and “love your neighbour as you love yourself.” It is in knowing ourselves loved by God, and loving God in return, we are told, that we find a love for ourselves which can then open up to our neighbour. In having the security of Divine love, we are able to move beyond fear, prejudice, brokenness, and judgement, into a place of liberation, faith, healing and wholeness. If that seems all a bit abstract, there are ways in which to connect with that force of love which can build up our sense of being loved. Jesus talked of needing to spend time in prayer, and often spent time alone in meditation and stillness.

He also talked of being part of a community of love, of people committed to finding the love of God together and sharing that with the world. The Church that followed hasn’t always lived up to that ideal, but that still remains the ideal, and the principle of finding community, sharing hopes, fears and healing, should still be at the heart of any spiritual community. May we learn to find love, drive out fear, and know healing even in and through our brokenness. Love is always drawing us out of ourselves and beyond ourselves.

Fear is always driving us back into the darkness. Love anything or anyone and it will break your heart. But love is the only thing that makes sense in this world. Love will break you. Love will burn the hell out of you. Our ego doesn't stand a chance against love. Love is eternal and immutable, and love will never fail us. Though the nations rage and the mountains fall into the sea, Love will never fail you. Love is a sure thing that will break you open to the eternal impossibility of grace, to hope, and to care, and to dream the impossible becoming true. "No matter how broken we are, there is a healing wholeness in the love of God. We can't earn it. We can't fix ourselves. We can only receive it, experience it, taste it and savor it. As God is love, that immutable love is what abiding in Christ is, the divine unfolding of God within us. Come to me all you who are burdened and I will give you rest.

The broken world is a puzzle

"There was a Dad who had a little girl that he loved very much. Everyday after work the Dad would come home and play with the little girl. He would always spend all of his extra time playing with the little girl. One night, while the man was at work, he realized that he had extra work to do for the evening, and that he wouldn't be able to play with his little girl. But, he wanted to be able to give the girl something to keep her busy. So, looking around his office, he saw a magazine with a large map of the world on the cover. He got an idea. He removed the map, and then patiently tore it up into small pieces. Then he put all the pieces in his coat pocket. When he got home, the little girl came running to him and was ready to play.

The man explained that he had extra work to do and couldn't play just now, but he led the little girl into the dining room, and taking out all the pieces of the map, he spread them on the table. He explained that it was a map of the world, and that by the time he could put it back together, his extra work would be finished, and they could both play. Surely this would keep the child busy for hours, he thought. About half an hour later the girl came to the man and said, "Okay, it's finished. Can we play now?" The man was surprised, saying, "That's impossible. Let's go see." And sure enough, there was the picture of the world, all put together, every piece in its place. The man said, "That's amazing! How did you do that?" The girl said, "It was simple. On the back of the page was a picture of a person. When I put the person together the whole world fell into place."

Thought for the week

As your thought for the week, always remember that some of the most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known brokenness, known rejection, known abandonment, known homelessness, known illness, known addiction, known suffering, known unemployment, known loneliness, known struggle, known grief, known asylum, known hunger and thirst, known abuse, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths.

These persons have an appreciation, sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, mercy, forgiveness, empathy, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen. So look on everyone with compassion as we don't know what other people are living through. Never give up on yourself or on others because life is short and we all need a bit of a resurrection experience in our life no matter who we are now and then and when it happens everything falls into place.

A prayer poem by Deborah Ann that I love to pray when feeling broken and that helps me goes as follows, "God keeps doing wonders, with broken hearts. He can still heal and mend all the injured parts. But, you must give Him your heart as it breaks each little piece of it and all the little flakes. God can perform miracles, on hearts that are damaged. He can undo the impact where grief has ravaged. But, you must go to Him, with a heart surrendered so He can do the repairs without being hindered. God continues to do wonders, miracles He still performs for the heart that is broken He mercifully transforms! There is a Healer who will mend your broken heart. There is hope for those who are emotionally troubled. God cares for each one of us and knows the unique ways our hearts have been wounded by a painful experience. Just as a doctor treats each patient differently according to their needs, God will help you heal from your heartbreak in exactly the way you need.

Jesus Christ was wounded and understands all that you go through. He reached out to us by dying on a cross so that we would be healed. Whether you’ve been let down by disappointment, rejection, or resentment, Jesus came to heal your broken heart. As Psalm 147:3 says “He healeth the broken in heart,and bindeth up their wounds.” Heavenly Father, I surrender into Your hands all that is hurting in my life. You alone can repair my brokenness, bind up my wounds and revive Your intended design for me. Thank You for being my Healer and for showing me Your ever-present loving care. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.