I’ll never forget him, broken, and in need of being mended.
He was 35 years old and going blind. His diabetes was out of control, but he didn’t care.
His wife had tried for years to get him frequent a doctor. He refused.
Even after they had explained the risk of further complications … heart disease, complete blindness, kidney failure, neuropathy, and amputation. He still didn’t care.
He wanted to live life his way, even if he walked around broken.
Even if it meant His life was less optimal or that he died early.
He wasn’t interested in being mended.
I am a blessed woman to be a nurse … to have a job I love and be counted among a profession known for empathy, care and understanding.
Nurses are on the front lines in most situations … to nurture the sick, care for the injured, and help mend the broken, both in body and in spirit.
They hold the hand of the dying,
And hold the hearts of their families who grieve.
They change and bathe the dirty,
Give medicine to the sick,
And believe in their ability to be healed.
It is the broken we care for … the ones who need to be mended. But care can only be given when the broken come to receive it … when they recognize their problem and admit that their only chance for wholeness is to submit to the healing process.
But not everyone wants to be healed.
The broken have to be willing to submit to the healing plan crafted for them by their physician.
And you know what?
God is our great physician. He has crafted a plan and is waiting for our broken hearts to come to Him … to surrender to His care and be willing to trust Him.
To be willing to go through the pain and sacrifice He requires in order to emerge mended.
Sometimes the wound has to be opened and cleaned.
Sometimes the break has to be re-broken and set.
Sometimes the medication is in need of a change.
Sometimes there’s infection to treat,
Or hours of physical therapy, for muscles which have atrophied over time.
As He mends, He gently glues each broken piece in place. It can be such a tedious process to become whole. But in His time, God always brings a wholeness that shines His love through the healed cracks for all the world to see.
Nothing delights Him more than to mend His people and make them whole.
“You rejoice over us. You take the pieces we have long forgotten–even the ones that have cut us deeply. And you lovingly place them one on another until all we know is that You are the builder and we are yours … the light that breaks through the shards of brokenness and makes the world bright with promise. The glimpse of forever that whispers gently … I have mended you, love.” ~Angie Smith, Mended
When the process is finished enough, He wants us to go and tell of His mending.
He wants us to share in the work He is doing in the world already, right where we are. And as we spend time with Him and listen to His voice, He will be faithful to make known to us, the ways He can use our mended hearts for Him.
We are mended to shine hope to the broken. [Tweet that]
And what is our charge? … As those who have been mended by the great love and mercy of God?
Angie Smith says it so well…
“Now go and tell the story of a love so beautiful,
that it broke in order for you to be rebuilt.”
May our increasing wholeness in Him, scream of His love to a dying and broken world. And may we always give Him much thanks for being mended.
Have you known anyone who refuses to be healed?
Over these weeks, how has your heart been mended?
As we conclude our journey in Angie’s book, Mended,
don’t forget to visit Tracie and Denise today for their concluding thoughts…
What a blessed journey we’ve had in being mended!
Photo Credit: dixieroadrash, Flickr Creative Commons
did you break that flower? =(
seriously, you nailed it – but not everyone wants to be healed.
It reminds me of Jesus asking, “Do you want to be well?” He asks me that too sometimes. It can be an easy thing to hold on to our brokenness, can’t it? Especially when that’s all we’ve known. Did I miss you on Five Minute Friday this week? –Elizabeth http://takingshapeslowly.wordpress.com/2013/04/26/friend-five-minute-friday/
Thank you friend…and no, no flower breaking here, just another lovely creative commons photo offering grace for me to add words to the picture 🙂
Yes, you are so right. And yes, I didn’t write Friday as I was preparing to host and (in)RL meet up on Saturday. So thankful for you looking for me 🙂 Blessings!
This is timely…my heart is heavy as I have just pleaded with and had to confront my sister to get much needed medical and emotional help. She is in so much denial, and it ended badly. I had to risk being a truth teller, but as I told her, she is the only one that can make the choice. I praise
God that He has nudged, beckoned, and flat out pushed me toward healing through truth telling
friends. I know it is by His grace He gave me ears to hear. This book is truly a blessing, and your
writing has been touching my soul. Thank you dear one!
Oh Kathryn, I’m so sorry…truth is hard to tell and hard to hear at times, but isn’t it so true that it really is TRUTH that sets us free? … Free to begin the mending He wants to do in us. I will be praying for your sister, that she will be open and willing to being mended and that your relationship with her will be whole. Thank you so much for your sweet encouragement…please know you are loved. xoxo