Praying through our brokenness

We are all the same, broken. And though some of us might look better or act better on the outside, we are each of us capable -- in the blink of an eye, the beat of a heart -- of falling.

I thought that was a great thought...and so true. Some of us can dress up our brokenness or sin better than others. We can talk the talk and pretend to walk the walk; or walk it awhile and quit. It's hard, REALLY HARD, to walk through seasons of brokenness in our lives and rely on God to fix them, to soothe us, to trust that the creator of the universe can create something beautiful out of brokenness.

A friend of mine has a set of tealight holders that say "P R A Y". And one of them broke. She was talking, with some sadness in her voice, about how she'd light those candles during her quiet time and it would remind her to pray, bu tthat now she's have to throw them out. The R was broken. That left PAY or YAP. Neither was appealing to her. I looked at her and said, or you can pray through your brokenness. I take no credit for that thought. It was planted in my head, as much for me as for my friend. And so, I pray through my brokenness, and celebrate healing and new life...

with my little man...who was full or spit and vinegar Thursday when I went to hang with Cassie and him. He is smiling now, but clearly not on demand. He's all stretched out and flailing his arms about, with no real purpose than to make them move. He's looking around, in awe of everything and pretty content till about 1:00 in the morning, Cassie says. He loves his mama and falls asleep in his GG's arms every single visit. And I'm thankful...for the prayers through the brokenness of Cassie's rebelllion...for the healing God has done in our relationship...for how much she is growing and learning and loving being a mom...for grace...and forgiveness...and zippered hearts. It's a treasure each and every time I spend time with Cass, talking about music and food, parenting and prayer, silly things men do. But mostly just jumping in the deep end of life with my little girl grown up ...seeing her smile and laugh and have it reach her eyes and knowing that it's real. Her honesty and take on life is refreshing...and so...I know that praying through our brokenness not only heals our hearts, but also heals hurt relationships...brings strength where there was a hole...brings peace and joy and new life...literally and figuratively.