Beauty in the breakdown

3/1/2011  11:05 P.M. Inspired by KB -C

Beauty in the breakdown

Sometimes I look at things in a strange way.  Particularly since moving to Ghana, my view of life has changed.  Oftentimes I find that there’s beauty in the breakdown.  

The flickering light in the bathroom that refuses to stay on long enough to be of any use at all....off, on, off, on; reminds me that the true light of the world will never go out.  The dripping faucet in the same bathroom reminds me that there is a fountain of living water that never runs dry.  The family I have now that’s really a mix of people from broken families reminds me that “family” is so much more than biology. The dropped phone calls and unreliable internet access remind me that I communicate with my real Father anytime, anywhere without wondering if He heard me.   The frustration of not being able to talk easily to some people because we don’t speak the same language reminds me that there’s never a language barrier with God.  The toe that was broken in a fluke accident where it got caught in my sandal strap reminds me that every member of the body is important...even the third toe on your right foot that doesn’t even really have a name.  

So many broken, run-down things are around me.  Everywhere I look I can see something that is not the way it should be.  They’re not really beautiful I suppose, but being able to find the beauty in those kinds of things is necessary in this life.  The most beautiful thought of all is that I know that I serve a God who isn’t afraid of a broken-down mess.  My God came down to this earth to be born to dirt-poor parents, in a barn.  My God became a human and washed the feet of his closest followers.  My God touched “gross” sick people and healed them.  My God loves to take a broken-down, mess of a person, fix them up and then use them as an example to all the other messy people around them.  My God sees my potential (and yours); who I really am, instead of a broken-down mess. 

Yeah, there’s beauty in that....