David had Jonathan. Apostle Paul had Dr. Luke. And I had my best friend.
I married Adam the same year my best friend married her husband. We struggled through infertility for five years and miraculously became pregnant in almost the same month. She babysat my kids and I taught her daughter how to read. We did ministry side-by-side, shared meals most nights, and lived life together.
Then, in the summer of 2019, her family announced that they were moving. And no, they didn’t want help packing the moving truck. And don’t bother with a housewarming party. They wouldn’t be having one.
To our church, the situation was bizarre. Her family wanted to run from Chicago as fast they could. But to me, I was hurt. I felt betrayed.
That was two years ago and I still have moments when I see or taste or hear something that brings the grief right back to the surface again.
I couldn’t live like this. So, this past August, I decided to do a self-study on forgiveness.
My study of “forgiveness” quickly morphed into much more.
By the second day of August, I realized I couldn’t forgive because I didn’t trust God. Then, two days later, I learned I needed to praise God who is always eternal, always holy…
And so, onward and so forth, my self-study of forgiveness became a month of coming to know the character of God.
In a word, August of 2021 was painful and eye-opening, like exposing a wound to air. It stung, but the freedom allowed me to start to heal.
In mid-August, on a random walk with my kids around the park, I saw THIS in the sidewalk.
I don’t know if this is part of making Chicago beautiful or what, but someone or some group had put bits of colored glass in the cracks of the sidewalk. This stretch that had formerly been hideous and dangerous was now a MASTERPIECE.
I mean, how many times do YOU take pictures of cracks in the sidewalk?
And right there, I saw an illustration of my life.
I have so many cracks in my sidewalk. I wanted God to put a sheet of concrete over all my ugly cracks, so no one could see them.
But God didn’t.
Instead, He decided to put my cracks on display. He wanted to show the world how HE has redeemed me from slavery to sin, has brought me back from spiritual death, and has cleansed my soul to be as righteous and holy as He is.
And He is making my scars and wounds BEAUTIFUL, colorful and awe-inspiring so that others will take notice of what He has done in me.
And you know what? It is a great honor to be in the hands of the Creator.
Ephesians 2:10 tells us, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Friends, let me tell you what I’m learning: God was there.
He was there when the sidewalk split. And He’s here with you now.
He’s shaping you and me day by day, stitch by stitch, one fingerprint at a time. God is making us into His masterpiece. And if it is God’s will to make our cracks more visible, praise be to God that we have this testimony. Praise be to God who covers our shame with His glory, our depravity with gems to reflect the Son—S-O-N.
Glory be to God that He has called us to showcase His grace to a broken and worn-out world! Amen.
Your turn: How has God shown up in your life? I’d love you hear your moment too!
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