Blessed to be Broken

Have you ever read from the book of Joel in the Bible? It’s a small book in the Old Testament of prophetic poems. Joel was what they refer to as a minor prophet.

Why am I telling you this? Good question. I woke up with the verse “He will restore what the locusts have eaten” in my head.

After I made my coffee, I grabbed my Bible to look up the verse that was rolling around in my head. Joel 2:25 simply says:

“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm^[a]—my great army that I sent among you.”

That verse on its own seems pretty, well, ummm, interesting to say the least. To get the full context of what’s happening here, you have to read all of Joel 2. But, in short, this chapter refers to God longing to show mercy to His people.

But, because of their sin, He needs them to repent, turn their sinful hearts back to Him, and as the compassionate and loving Father He is, He will restore what was destroyed and not only that, but He will pour His Spirit on them.

I don’t know what those proverbial and pesky locusts have destroyed in your lives, but I know what they’ve destroyed in mine.

Since 2011, the year I asked God into my heart, He’s been restoring me, day by day, piece by piece to be more like Christ. It’s been quite the experience.

Recently, a good friend and I made a trip to Matthews, NC to attend the Hope*Writers book launch event for JOY ~ Experiencing Heaven’s Delight in Every Season and to celebrate my birthday.

We traveled over to South Carolina to visit the Pretty Place Chapel, straddled the Eastern Continental Divide of South and North Carolina to be seemingly in two places at once.

We took a golf cart tour of Charlotte and had our brains jam packed with the city’s history. We also went troll hunting. That’s right, I said troll hunting.

The things you never thought you’d say. I have to admit, I knew nothing about these trolls but my friend was like a kid in a candy store about them.

We also took a golf cart tour of Charlotte and had our brains jam packed with the city’s history. So many cool and interesting facts I didn’t know about the area.

After that, it was time to go troll hunting. That’s right, I said troll hunting. The things you never thought you’d say. I have to admit, I knew nothing about these trolls but Victoria was like a kid in a candy store about them. Google Thomas Dambo if you want more info as he’s the artist responsible for these whimsical trolls.

Of course we did some shopping and ate at a couple incredible places too, but it was more about the experiences and getting to hang out with one another.

By far, the favorite thing we did was make an impromptu decision to visit Chimney Rock, NC.

Two years ago the entire Main Street and its shops were wiped out from floods brought on by Hurricane Helene. And today, bit by bit, piece by piece, they’re coming back and ready to reclaim what the enemy destroyed.

As my friend and I sat on the outside deck of a restaurant called RiverWatch, I had so many thoughts and emotions happening.

Why would they rebuild on the very river that took them out? Why didn’t they just cut their losses and move on? And then it hit me.

Why would God want to rebuild this very vessel that sinned against Him? Why didn’t He just cut His losses and move on?

Simply put, He loves us too much to leave us destroyed by the sin that so easily takes us out.

The people of Chimney Rock, love their city. They knew what it had to offer before the flood destroyed it and they knew what it had to offer after the flood.

So they tossed out all the things that were destroyed and began the slow and painstaking journey of rebuilding their beloved city.

As I sat at the table of the bar and grill with my friend, I said, “So this is what redemption and restoration looks like.” Her and I have come a long way since Christ came into our hearts.

We don’t always see the what the actual physical side of restoration looks like, but in this place, with the active rebuilding of this city, I not only saw it, I felt it.

It was both humbling and inspiring.

That’s the beauty of our Heavenly Father. He loves us. He wants what’s best for us. He wants to shower us with His blessings.

The people of Chimney Rock could have easily left what the locusts destroyed in their rearview. Instead, they chose the path of restoration.

Just like they daily choose the path of restoration for their city, we too have to make the decision daily to follow Christ.

And don’t go thinking that God is going to restore things the way you want them. He’s far too good and holy to give us anything but His best.

Putting Him in a box or bringing Him down to our level is something we do when we (and by we, I mean, me) think we know better than God.

Restoration isn’t a one and done. It happens every time we surrender our plans to His. That surrender should be easy. Key word there, is should. We can hold onto our fleeting earthly life things like they’re the eternal treasure over what God has for us.

Why? I dunno. I think it’s comfort, or lack of trust in God, or maybe it’s like I said earlier, we think we know what’s best.

How about today, we just sink into the knowing that God loves us. I can get so tangled up in the things of God, I forget to just rest in the arms of God.

However that rest looks like for you, I pray you feel the abundant love God has for you. I pray even more so, you know that’s enough.

Remember, God’s not asking for your performance, He desires and delights in your presence. How awesome is that? The God of the universe created you, desires you, and loves you with an everlasting love.

Carry that with you wherever you go today and I guarantee it will change the way you go through this day. The very one God gave you. Amen? Amen!

And now a shameless plug about the chapter I wrote in a collaboration book. Getting to meet my fellow authors and see the Hope*Books office and meet the crew behind it all was pretty surreal. Each chapter represents the JOY we find through every season. Is Joy automatic? No, not always. Can JOY and grief live side by side. Absolutely. If you need an uplifting reminder of how others who’ve walked similar paths found JOY in their mess, then head over to Amazon and get your copy. By the way, this is the 2nd in the series of collab books about the Fruit of the Spirit.

Joy: Experiencing Heaven’s Delight in Every Season (The Fruits of the Spirit) https://a.co/d/0bLcDJcB

PS. Leave a comment on the blog and you could be the winner of a free signed copy of the book!