A Week of Thankfulness: Brokenness

Happy Thursday everyone! Hope everyone is having an awesome week. Thanksgiving is just one week away and I couldn't be happier. Family and food are definitely two of my favorite things so a day full of them is pretty much paradise to me. Anyways, I decided for the next 7 days leading up to the holiday, I'd share something that I'm thankful for. I'm not really sure what the 7 things will be but I'm just gonna go with what pops in my head that day! Tonight's post is going up a little late because of the busyness of my day, so please forgive me if some things I say don't fully make sense. I just really wanted to do this special series for Thanksgiving. Anyways on to the post...

Today I'm thankful for my brokenness.

The past month of my life, I've learned more about brokenness than ever before. I've not only learned how to react to it and how not to react to it, but also how beautiful brokenness really is. It's always hardest when the tragedy or the storm first hits and it probably won't ever be easy, but once you can get to the point where you realize it's part of God's greater plan and will ultimately lead to something so much better, it's a whole lot less painful. Humans experience a great deal of hurt and disappointment, whether it's:
•a broken friendship
•the loss of a loved one
•a relationship that you thought would last forever ending
•finding out you lost your job
•didn't get into something you applied/tried out for
•an injury/sickness
Or multiple other things. Because we live in a sinful, broken world, there's no escaping disappointment. But because our God loves us, He can make something so beautiful out of our brokenness. He had a plan for each of us when He made the earth, when He sent His son to die for us, and when He knit us together in our mother's womb. That plan is the best possible thing for us, every little piece of it fits together perfectly and makes up a Godly, fulfulling life. Many parts of this plan involve pain and sorrow, which can be so difficult to understand sometimes. Why would a God who loves us so infinitely cause us to expirience pain? Isaiah 66:9 says "In the same way I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born," says the Lord." How comforting is it to know that any pain we will ever expirience will have a good outcome?

I can definitely testify that there is so much beauty in brokenness. Of course it's not easy, but the times when we desperately call out to the Lord are the times when we grow the most, learn the most, and truly discover our identities in Christ. God has already used my recent brokenness and heartache to do some awesome things in my life.  I have drawn so much nearer to the Lord, learned plenty lessons and am still learning constantly, created this blog and have seemed to impact at least a few people through it, made many new friends, and so much more!

So thank the Lord for your brokenness, and more importantly thank Him for using it for your good! Thank Him when it's hardest and when you don't understand why he would put you through a certain situation. Be still and know that He is always with you and knows exactly what is best for you.

"For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death." -2 Corinthians 7:10