Not Broken

    I recently watched an inspiring movie called “Not Broken.” It’s about a young girl named Winter who was born with dyslexia. Her learning disability made school life difficult even when she changed from a regular school to a special school. The one thing she was good at was art. Unfortunately, her mother did not support her because of her own disappointment as a child living with a father who was an artist. As Winter got older she grew increasingly discouraged and finally dropped out of school. She attempted to work in various jobs but even this turned out to be a failure. She was discouraged, depressed and felt as if she was not good enough. 
    She finally decided to turn to her art and showed her work to a local curator. Although the woman liked her work it was not the style she was looking for. Sad and disappointed, she burned all of her pieces except for one. She finally met another curator who saw her ability and who was willing to showcase her work in her art gallery. By this time, her mother began to realise the value of her ability and finally gave the support needed. 
    Winter may have been dyslexic and may have felt damaged or broken but she was not. She just had to find what she was good at and fit in where God had created her to fit in. She did not have to be like everyone else, she just needed to be herself. I love the way she expressed it when she finally realised her value. She said: “Our differences don’t diminish our value, that’s what makes us special!” Before she came to this realization, however, you could almost feel her sense of hopelessness as each effort to make something of herself was met with failure. Many of us I am sure can relate. We may not have a learning disability like Winter but there may be some area in our life where we feel “disabled,” some area that makes us feel inadequate. However, that area does not define us and does not determine our worth or value. God does that.
    When you think about it, Jesus met and healed many “broken” people during His season of ministry. They were worth His attention, they were worth His compassion, they were worth His effort. Jesus did not come for perfect people who had it all together but for those who were sick, lost and in desperate need of a Saviour (see Mark 2:16-17). They had value in His eyes. I am pretty sure He didn’t see their defect, rather their value and, to be quite honest, Jesus’ ministry would have been quite ineffective without them. Let’s face it, their story, their testimony found its way into the Bible to bring hope, healing and encouragement to all who read it. We need their story of brokenness to show and to prove God’s unconditional love, mercy, grace and favour to all of us. 
    When I suffered a heart attack last year, it threatened to break me and render me useless, at least that’s how I felt. But the reality is I am not broken. God can and is still using me. He had to remind me of what I do have … life! Sometimes we can so focus on our defects or on something negative that happened to us or on what we think we have lost that we forget what we do have and that it is still of great value. Be thankful for what you have, for who you are even if you are not like everyone else, even if you don’t have what others may have. What you do have is good enough … you are good enough and God is able to use you just as you are for His honour and glory!
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into you life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so now. We all have defects, we all have shortcomings, we all have failed in some way. While we may be focusing on those negative areas, God chooses to see the value and worth He put in each of us. 
    You are not hopeless or helpless as you might think. God has created someone special, someone of worth and value … God has created YOU!

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