A little broken, but still works well

True confession. I can mindlessly while away the hours "shopping" on facebook marketplace. I might begin in the antique furniture listings, then stroll/scroll my way toward patio furniture, then speed boats, then garden accessories, then farm animals...you get the picture. I always find it curious to see who is selling what, what value they place on the items, and how facebook seems to define local?! ( not to mention what things I might NEED) Recently I have found myself spending a lot of time in the outdoor toddler play equipment category. Yes- that would be the Gigi in me showing. Earlier this week, I found a great little set that I thought would fit well in our yard. I slid through the pictures and then ventured down into the description. "well loved, but outgrown. A little broken, but still works well."

A little broken but still works well. What a gift those seven words are. Because in reality, aren't we all a little broken but still making our way through life? I know that when I glance in the mirror these days, I see wrinkles and grey hairs in places they weren't the night before. My joints creak and stiffen in ways that make me groan. What used to come easily sometimes takes a little more thought. The energy that I used to unleash on a Saturday to-do list drags a bit more now. The pace has slowed, but it's still there. Sometimes it gets too easy to dwell on what doesn't work, what has changed, what is harder. We are all a little broken, but still work well.

As I take stock of this aging body, mind and soul, I cannot help but relish the gifts this slightly dented body has given me. I carried and sustained three human lives in my womb. Those three humans have gone out into the world and genuinely made it a better place. My sometimes over-compassionate heart has loved and cared for more people than I can count. There is no doubt it carries scars, but it still works well. My senses that crave the smell, touch, sight, and taste of nature, of lakeshores, of crusty fresh bread, of chocolate chip cookies, of the kissable spot right below my granddaughter's ear have led me on life giving adventures and hold substantial memories.

All the little scars and dings, blemishes and broken bits make us who we are. I wouldn't go back to the times before I bore those marks for anything- because they make me who I am today- a little broken but still working well. Heck- maybe working better because I've slowed my pace. I've learned boundaries and the gift of rest. I have outgrown the things that no longer suit me. Broken bits can create something new and the cracks let light seep in.

Where are you beautifully broken? What bits and pieces are you using to create something new? What scars and dents tell the story of who you are? What I know for sure is that you are likely a little broken, but still work well. For those that are curious, I didn't get the playset- someone else had seen the value in something well loved with more life to give. Back to scrolling I go...

Hear these words from Psalm 139- taken from Eugene Peterson's interpretation of the Bible, The Message as a blessing for your beautifully broken self...

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;

    you formed me in my mother’s womb.

I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!

    Body and soul, I am marvelously made!

    I worship in adoration—what a creation!

You know me inside and out,

    you know every bone in my body;

You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,

    how I was sculpted from nothing into something.