Broken Pieces

Our family likes to go to the beach over Spring Break if we can. Rain or shine, it's a nice way to relax and unwind with the family. The weather in March is unpredictable. Some days are really warm, some are cool.

So, on one of our cool days, we decided to go on a family walk. Joshua was not a fan. In this case, I didn't really blame him. For one thing, it was sprinkling...and I know we were at the ocean, so a little rain on our heads shouldn't matter...but ain't nobody got time for THAT.

For another thing, Jim and the boys were acting like we were filming a segment for the Amazing Race. Seriously. WHERE'S THE FIRE? 

It's hard for some of us to walk on the sand.

So Holly and I decided to hang back with Joshua, and look for shells. He is not really a huge fan of that, either...but the walking and the looking and the choosing and the PICKING IT UP FROM THE SAND? All really good for Joshua.

So, I held the baggie as we walked. If I saw a pretty shell, I'd pick it up and put it in the bag.

It didn't take long to see a BIG difference in the way Joshua and I chose our shells. I was looking for the perfect shells. You know, the ones that weren't chipped, that didn't have one of those fossil-looking lines on it...the ones that had a pretty color.

But Joshua? I would see him, bent over a bed of shells. He would look and look, and then pick up one to put in the bag. Every shell he chose was broken, chipped...worthless, really. TO ME.

Joshua would pick up little pieces, and not care if they were whole or unblemished. In his eyes, each piece had value.

This had such an impact on me, because this is the very thing I preach: awareness and acceptance; how people are more than a diagnosis...and more than how they look on the outside.

I don't know if it's human nature to choose the perfect and beautiful...but this day was a huge reminder of how there is beauty in the broken...in the imperfect...in the missing pieces.

And I, of all people, should know that...God has been making beauty out of my broken...for my whole life.

"The LORD has made all things for Himself..." Proverbs 16:4