THE BEAUTY IN BROKENNESS

Life has a way of bringing moments when everything feels shattered–when it seems as if you are standing in the middle of broken pieces, questioning how anything could ever be made whole again. Maybe you’re looking at your circumstances right now and asking yourself, “How can this ever be restored? How can anything good come from this?”

You are not alone in that feeling

Even David, a man after God’s own heart, knew what it meant to feel completely devastated. In Psalm 31 he described himself as “a broken pot”– fragile, cracked, and worn. Yet only a few of verses later, he spoke words of powerful hope:

But I am trusting you, O Lord, saying, ‘You are my God!’ My future is in your hands. (Psalm 31:14–15 NLT)

David’s circumstances didn’t instantly change–but his perspective did. He chose trust in the middle of brokenness.

And that same invitation is extended to you.

God Sees You–Even Here

Scripture tells us, The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him (2 Chronicles 16:9). He is not distant. He is not unaware. He is not indifferent.

Just as He revealed Himself to Hagar as Jehovah Roi, the God who sees, He sees you–right where you are. He sees you in the desert seasons, the confusing seasons, the grieving seasons, and the rebuilding seasons.

He is the God who renews, restores, heals, and brings beauty out of what feels irreparably damaged. What feels like an ending to you may be the very place where His restoration begins.

Nothing Is Wasted in God’s Hands

When Jesus fed the five thousand, He instructed the disciples to gather up every fragment so that nothing would be lost (John 6:12). Not the leftovers. Not the broken pieces. Nothing.

That same principle still holds true today.  God wastes nothing—not your pain, not your losses, not your disappointments, not even the parts of your story you wish you could erase. He can gather every fragment of your life and form something extraordinary from it.

Whether you’ve experienced broken relationships, shattered dreams, financial hardship, health struggles, or deep emotional wounds—restoration is part of His nature. Healing is part of His promise. And often, the latter chapters of our lives carry a glory far greater than the earlier ones.

God Uses Broken Things

All throughout creation, we see a beautiful pattern:

    •    Broken soil produces crops

    •    Broken clouds bring rain

    •    Broken grain becomes bread

    •    Broken bread gives strength

    •    And broken people… do great things

Psalm 147:3 reminds us:

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (NKJV)

Brokenness is not the end of usefulness. Sometimes it is the beginning of transformation.

The Beauty of Restoration

There is a Japanese art form called Kintsugi, a method of repairing broken pottery with seams of gold. Instead of hiding the cracks, the artist highlights them. The repaired vessel becomes more beautiful, more unique, and much more valuable than before it was broken.

The very places that once represented damage become the places that display beauty.

That is what God does.

He does not simply patch you up and try to make you look like nothing ever happened. He restores you in a way that reveals His grace, His power, and His glory. Your healed places become testimonies. Your scars become stories of redemption. Your restoration increases your value—not because of what you endured, but because of what He has done.

When Brokenness Is Part of the Plan

It can be hard to understand why things fall apart. Sometimes we feel frustrated or even angry when life doesn’t go the way we planned. Broken things are inconvenient. Painful. Disruptive.

But sometimes brokenness is not the interruption of God’s plan—it is part of it.

Sometimes God grows things by breaking them.  Sometimes He reveals His power most clearly through our weakness.  What feels like loss may be preparation.

Your Story Isn’t Finished

No matter what your present circumstances look like, God is not finished with you.

He is still mending.

Still restoring.

Still shaping.

Still redeeming.

And when His work in you is revealed, what once looked shattered will shine with the brilliance of refined gold.

So, if you find yourself standing among broken pieces today, take heart. Your future is still in His hands. And in those hands, nothing is beyond repair.

Be encouraged that no matter your present circumstances, God is not finished with you yet!

Jan Jarvis currently serves as Women’s Ministries Director for Kentucky. She is the wife of Administrative Bishop David Jarvis.   Together they previously served in these roles in the Rocky Mountain Region, the Heartland Region and West Virginia.

Along with her husband, David, they served as State Youth and Discipleship Director for 26 years in Hawaii, Oklahoma, West Virginia, South Carolina, South Georgia and Alabama.  During their tenure as Youth and Discipleship Director, Jan also served as Girls Ministries Coordinator.  They have also been Senior Pastor in Virginia, Kentucky and Hawaii.  David and Jan were born in Ohio and also served there as Youth and Music Pastors.

In addition, Jan has served as Minister of Music in the states and churches they have served in leading in local church worship as well as State Events Worship Services. Jan is an Ordained Minister.

Jan and David have been married for 46 years.  They were blessed with two daughters, Rhonda Jarvis, and Jessica Lawson.  Jessica is married to Ryan Lawson. They have two grandsons, Lincoln David and Lexington Ryan Lawson and a granddaughter, Lyric Michelle.