Jessica Robbins

As I was walking along the beach recently I noticed a pretty shell in the sand and went to pick up, but then I realized that it was broken…Incomplete and imperfect.

My immediate reaction was that I didn’t want it because it wasn’t whole.

Right then and there I felt the Father whispering to my heart, “Just because it’s broken doesn’t mean it isn’t still beautiful.”

This struck me to the core because it is exactly like me and exactly like you.

We live in a fallen and broken world.  We often feel like we’re not worth anything because we’re not the picture of perfection.

Our bodies are imperfect.  We keep making the same mistakes over and over again.  We’re failing more than we’re succeeding at things.  Our flesh wins again leaving us feeling defeated.

I hate feeling this way.

I hate feeling like I’ll never measure up or be “good enough.”

I’m left feeling small and insignificant.

And then Jesus speaks…

He tells me that yes, I am broken, but I’m still beautiful.  

He reminds me that His strength is made perfect in my weaknesses.

Through His perfect sacrifice the Father sees me as whole.

Right now I’m still a broken mess most of the time, but I’m beginning to see that we all are.

If we take off our masks and truly embrace intimacy and authenticity, we know that we don’t have it all together.

But I do know Someone who does.  It is in Him that I can boast.  It is in this man Jesus that I can find wholeness and peace and purpose for this life.

He loves me, and He loves you.  He knows that we’re broken, and yet He stills calls us His  beautiful beloved.

I cannot grasp this Love!  It is fierce.  It’s unconditional and abounding.  It is deeper and wider and higher than I can ever grasp.

It’s so steady.

And it keeps drawing me in…

Yes.  I’m broken.

I’m still going to fail.  I still have so much to learn about walking with Jesus, but I know that He’s holding my hand and my heart.

I’m humbled because of my brokenness and because of His love.  It leaves me in a vulnerable state of dependence, right at my Savior’s feet.

I’m discovering that more and more this is where I want to be, at the feet of Jesus.  Hanging on His every word.  Captivated by His presence.

This revelation has inspired me to keep a collection of broken shells.  It’s to serve as a reminder to me that my Father gathers broken things and makes them whole.  That He loves me always.

So let’s embrace today and who we are, a beautiful, broken and redeemed mess.