Fractures Become Weapons in His Hands

This morning, the teacher of a class I am taking on providing aftercare for women coming out of human-trafficking, started talking about the fractures in our lives that develop as a result of trauma.  Extreme trauma will sometimes produce abnormal behavior patterns, which psychology has named schizophrenia, but with the Holy Spirit, the fractures can be healed and those who have been through hell on earth can actually become functional human beings.  It was an intense class, one that will break your heart because the stories are real.

Then came self reflection.  

After the class, I was sitting in a worship service, singing some of the most anointed songs ever written: Christmas songs.  As we were singing, God began to show me how specific events in my own life resulted in some fractures that often feel like fragmented story pieces which will never produce anything coherent. I've often viewed them as these parts that I just want to forget, even with the deep down desire to believe that God doesn't waste a thing.

As I worshipped, I saw a picture of all of the fragmented pieces being met by His love, where He took the fractures and suddenly there was wholeness, with each one having an important part to play in the making of who I am and what I carry.  And the Father didn't  just bring wholeness, but every single traumatic event that resulted in fracture actually became a weapon, accurate and powerful.  Like an arrow that hits its mark every time.  I saw God take everything that felt broken, and not only bring His wholeness but anoint the broken pieces so they could become a blessing.

And that's what He does every time, if we just let Him.  If we just offer up the pieces to Him, vulnerable and raw, and let Him cover and saturate them with His love.  He makes them a door of hope. A door that will become an invitation to others, inviting them into a story of healing and redemption--a living epistle of the Gospel.