From Brokenness to Depth By Jodi Rosser
We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.
2 Corinthians 4:7-9 (NLT)
Two of my favorite things were combined to make this magnificent masterpiece that hangs by my front door.
Beautifully broken glass pieced together like a mosaic on top of a gorgeous rod iron tree with deep roots.
This artwork mirrors my story.
Brokenness. I could relate to that. The shattered dreams and smashed hopes of my own life resembled those broken pieces.
The first time my heart cracked like a clay pot, I was staring at the ultrasound monitor and could not find my baby’s heartbeat. I felt crushed. Destroyed. The next time my heart was shattered into a million pieces was my devastating divorce. I felt damaged. Wrecked. The most recent heartbreak was holding my dearest friend’s hand through chemotherapy but still losing her to cancer only four months later. I felt fractured. Ruined.
Each moment had left me splintered and beaten down by the weight of my grief. Can I piece the fragments back together? I honestly was not sure, but I was hopeful after hearing about a woman who shared her testimony with a clay pot, broken and glued back together for the audience to see. She proposed that the light shining through the cracks was stunning.
Perhaps there was a purpose to my brokenness. Maybe you are wondering the same thing.
What if God’s light shines the brightest through our cracks and broken places?
You see, a pot with no cracks or chips does not allow much light through it. However, if a pot has many of those broken places but still shines brightly for Jesus despite them, then that is a beautiful thing.
Could our brokenness actually help us be a stronger light?
Friend, there is something powerful about doing something physically that symbolizes how you feel emotionally. I discovered this truth when I broke my own piece of pottery one weekend in my backyard.
As I gathered up all the pieces to glue the pot back together, I noticed that there were small pieces, and even some dust, that came off with the cracks that I could not restore. I realized the pot will never be fully restored back to its original form.
We will never be completely the same again after we break. I used to think that this was a bad thing, but now I have a different mindset.
What if we are not supposed to look exactly the same? What if we are becoming a better version of ourselves through our hard times?
As I placed a candle inside the reassembled pot, I was convinced. The beams of light were shining radiantly through the slivers and cracks. It was breathtaking!
There was beauty in the brokenness.
Standing in my house staring at the gorgeous artwork on my wall, I thanked God for shifting my view of brokenness that weekend years ago. The light sparkling off the pieces of glass reminded me that God can take my broken pieces and turn them into something beautiful—and that He will do the same for you.
The tree with the deep roots also has special meaning; it showed me God’s desire for depth in our relationships. Together, they revealed that the two are connected.
Brokenness leads to depth when our broken pieces are placed in the hands of Jesus!
This has been true in my life. My devastating circumstances are what drew me closer to God which in turn deepened my faith. Without my shattered stories, I don’t think I would have chosen to grow deeper.
Maybe this has been true for you too. Your struggles and challenges are deepening your faith! They are developing strong roots in you so God can take you higher than you ever imagined.
What if your greatest heartbreak catapults you to your greatest growth?
Perhaps right now, all you can see is the broken pieces. You don’t see the beginning of internal growth. But let me assure you, God is still working. He does not waste any cracks. They actually become the very catalyst to deep rooted growth.
Those crushed parts of your life will also be the very ingredient God uses to help another hurting heart.
So don’t give up. Allow God to refine you into the person He made you to be. Trust that this is not the end of your story and believe God is going to use this chapter to expand your roots down deeper in your faith than even before.
Remember God never wastes one tear, but instead uses them to fertilize the ground so our faith roots can develop and deepen through each heartbreak.
If you are in the middle of a difficult circumstance, let me leave you with this question:
Is your breaking actually the remaking of you? A more patient you? A more empathetic you? A deeper you?
Jodi Rosser is an author, podcaster, and speaker who serves women through her podcast, Depth, and her blog, Heartbreak to Strength. In August 2022, she released her first book, Depth: Growing Through Heartbreak to Strength. Having walked through multiple heartbreaks (divorce, miscarriage, & cancer), Jodi now inspires women to grow deeper in their faith and to find hope, joy, and purpose through their unexpected storms. She lights up the most when she shares her testimony using her cracked clay pot, a visual reminder that God shines brightest through our broken places. She is raising two sons (One in high school and one in college) in Southern California where she teaches science to elementary students in the STEM Lab. Jodi would love to connect you online at jodirosser.com and send you her 10 “Not Enough” Statements and a Bible Verse to combat each one. You can also connect with Jodi on Instagram, @jodi.rosser.
