[bitter]sweet brokenness

As I spend this Saturday morning reflecting on my life experiences and trying to artfully and thoughtfully construct grad schools essays, I started thinking about the beauty of pain and brokenness. When good things happen we are quick to say we feel “blessed,” but how often do we say this when bad things happen? I am learning that everything that happens in our lives –whether good or bad –is a blessing from Him. We all enjoy good things for the happiness they bring, but not many of us can truly delight and genuinely praise God with a thankful heart when we are in the storm of life. But God doesn’t let anything go to waste –not even suffering. It’s obviously sometimes hard to see light at the end of the tunnel, to see beauty in pain, to laugh when your heart is wounded –and we rarely see dancing at a funeral. But if God doesn’t waste anything that means He doesn’t just freely hand out searing pain and heart-rending loss. It’s hard to think in such a contradictorily way but….we are so incredibly blessed when bad things come our way because: they give us the stage to demonstrate our trust in God’s sovereignty over our lives; they give us the empathy and sympathy for others who are experiencing or will experience similar circumstances; and they should make us feel so incredibly privileged knowing God deems us worthy enough to share in His suffering. Allowing brokenness –both our own and the brokenness of others –to completely permeate our lives perhaps may be the greatest blessing God bestows upon us. While I do not necessarily sadistically pray to be “blessed” (in this way) so that I can be a blessing to others, I do think it is through suffering that we can most fully bless others.