I’ve been working on a project
for Pastor Rob; it has been a cleansing to do it…in more ways than one.
At the beginning of summer Rob
did a sermon on brokenness, as the congregation entered into the sanctuary one
by one and two by two, some in family groups, they were asked to take a piece
of broken tile and hold it in their hands.
As Rob preached, the jagged pieces of tile were rolled around in hands,
turned and held lightly, tightly, questioned and for some already
understood.
Rob asked the questions, “what
have you been broken for, what struggles do you have, what hurt comes into your
situations, what is there in your life that hurts others?” Pens were handed out
and each person was asked to write the words of their brokenness on the
tile.
Broken tiles with broken words, sad
and sorry and lost and hurtful…some with no words at all, perhaps no words were
known for that sin or doubt or failure…some tiles left with the finger prints
of their blood sweat and tears. We are
all broken in some way, but the good news is this, we can be restored, we do
not need to stay in our brokenness… we can be made new …amazing grace, how
sweet the sound.
The tiles were collected into a ceramic
vase; it also jagged and cracked magnifying the message of brokenness.
My project was to take the tiles
and make them into something beautiful, an image that could reflect the truth
of being restored into something new, that we don’t have to stay broken, we are
worth restoration.
So a friend and I took the broken tiles
and fashioned them around the frame of a mirror, laid them in a pattern,
working them together side by side, jagged, sharp, broken edges placed purposely
and with intention, knowing that some of these hurts were people we knew, sat
beside in the sanctuary, walked alongside through the aisles, sang with, talked
with…prayed with. A church is not filled
with perfect people; it is filled with broken people. God loves that, He is in the business of
restoration… isn’t that perfect.
We chose a mirror as our project
for two reasons, one, because it’s useful and two, because it is a reminder
that we are being molded by God to reflect His glory, created in His image.
When we had all the pieces in
place it was my job to grout them in, here is where the cleansing
happened. Anyone who has grouted knows
that at the right time a damp cloth is needed to wipe away the grout form the
tiles for the beauty to show through, fingers are needed to fill the spaces and
to smooth the places that are hard to get at.
Sometimes the more you wipe, the more the tiles are covered, it takes time;
drying…and wiping , drying and wiping gently, all gently, over and over wiping
the tiles clean, removing every trace of the grout from the face of the tiles. As I leaned over these tiles, with my fingers
sore and hurting, hands working, smoothing, wiping, I understood the hands of God;
even though hurting over our jagged edges, He is lovingly, carefully wiping over
us, wiping us clean, not all at once but slowly taking His time, the right
time, removing all trace of our brokenness, making us new, beautiful...I love
that.
“I will forever wipe the slate clean of their sins”
Hebrews 10:17
