Kintsugi
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of reclaiming broken pottery. Kintsugi has been called a redemptive art form. A piece of broken pottery is fused back together with a mixture of gold or silver dust and a glue like substance. The piece of broken pottery is then able to be used again and has a renewed beauty that adds to its value.
Kintsugi masters are artists who create highly valuable pieces of pottery from the shards of discarded or unwanted cups and bowls. What these masters create is deeply beautiful and a testament to their artistry but also to finding beauty and usefulness in the broken.
What a lovely example of how the hard places in our lives, the places that break us or shatter our hearts, can be redeemed and used for good again.
Any area we struggle with such as forgiveness, fear or depression, grief, loss, self loathing, and more these are able to be redeemed for good and can be useful in creating a better life.
This can be achieved through learning to see your broken areas with new eyes. Understanding that brokenness is not ugly, but beautiful. That usefulness and productive actions can come from a broken place despite what it looks like.
My Personal Story
In my personal life, there have been very difficult moments that left me broken and shattered. I couldn’t see at the time what or how these times could be useful or redeemed. In the midst of the struggle my eyes could only see one thing, the pain.
But as I processed through my pain, allowed it to surface and be let out of my heart, I began seeing a healing take place. I allowed God to take the pain I was experiencing and give me new ways to view what I had gone through. Just like the shattered cup or bowl. All that shattered glass seemed like it should just be discarded and heaped into the trash pile. But I had to learn to see beyond the shattered to beautiful possibility.
One of these difficult moments was my sister’s death from colon cancer. I never imagined my family and I would say goodbye to her at 37 years old. I was deeply shattered by this and I could not see any beauty in it. How could I get past seeing my sister suffer and die at such a young age?
That was four years ago now and although the pain still remains from losing her it is most definitely wrapped in a different viewpoint.
I now think of my sister in eternity where she is free and happy and no pain or sorrow shackles her. I have allowed her life and her death to inspire me to write an e-book on creatively dealing with sibling loss. You can find the link here to that e-book.
I chose to see the brokenness as something potentially beautiful. I chose to understand that God had purpose in this shattered place.
The name of my website and business is Beauty For Ashes. The reason I write and the reason I bring you blog posts such as these is to help you understand the Kintsugi idea of redemption. That the ashes of life, no matter what they are can indeed be redeemed and made into beautiful things in your life.
Crushed To Be Made Whole Again
Another point I would like to touch on is that Jesus Christ who became our Savior more than 2000 years ago, His redemption of our souls is another great example of how brokenness can redeem. Jesus was broken on the cross physically for our spiritual redemption from darkness and sin. Scripture speaks about his brokenness in this way ( Isaiah 53:5)
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed
Vs 5 talks about Him being crushed for our iniquities. When you think of the word crushed do you think of hearing glass being shattered or pottery being crushed under foot? That tell tale sound of crunching as it is ground into powder beneath that heavy pressure. The weight of our sins was the heavy pressure that killed Jesus on the cross. Every single evil thing, every sin of our hearts, every sin ever committed from the beginning of time and onward into the future. None but the Son of God could hold that much pressure.
He allowed it to crush Him so that we would not need to be crushed and pay for our sins. He was crushed so that we might be able to experience His redemptive love and understand that God truly does make beauty from brokenness.
The beauty of His redemption was that He brought everything back together by His gift of eternal life and salvation from darkness and sin. Those are the gold threads that fill the fractures of our brokenness before God. Jesus redeemed me and you from every sin, every chain that holds us captive.
You are called to come out of your chains into the freedom of Jesus Christ. Come out of your brokenness and be healed. Come out and be redeemed as a beautiful vessel for the Spirit of the Living God to dwell in. Sin and sorrow, fear and pain, all these things will hold you captive forever if you do not surrender the broken pieces to Jesus.
I encourage you to surrender them into His hands and see what a beautiful vessel He will make of you!
New Eyes To See
You have the ability to see your brokenness with new and refreshed eyes. Each day take a moment to consider what could become beautiful out of your particular situation. You will see and be surprised as time moves on what beauty can come of the ashes and shattered dreams and moments of your life.
Blessings of Beauty
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