Holy Kintsukuroi

 

Thank you SO SO MUCH for your anniversary wishes to us yesterday. We had a wonderful day together. Cannot wait to catch you up on our anniversary getaway fun! 

But until I can do that, I wanted to tell you about the gift I gave Ryan! We try to stick to one of the traditional gift themes for each year - and one of those for #9 was pottery. Pottery is significant to us - in stories I don't think I've ever shared on the blog. But it is. And I wanted to think of a way to honor that in a new way. 

The gift I gave him was accompanied by this letter:

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I’m not sure whether or not you remember this, but a few years ago at a retreat, I spoke about the Japanese art of kintsukuroi. The word kintsukuroi means “golden mend.” It’s an art form where the Japanese take broken pottery and put it back together using a lacquer resin laced with gold or silver.

            They believe that the flaws mended with gold become part of the object’s design, and some believe the pottery to be even more beautiful because it has gone through the process of being broken and repaired. The cracks become merely a symbol of an event that happened, rather than the cause of its destruction.

            I said then that I believe Jesus is in the business of holy kintsukuroi. And now, especially after this year, I believe it even more. And I believe YOU are part of His holy kintsukuroi in my life.

Isaiah 61:

            The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and to provide for those who grieve in Zion — to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. (vv. 1-3)

Luke 4:

            Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

            Listen to this: Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (vv. 16-21)

As I said that day to those women: Jesus doesn’t always keep us from cracking. And there’s no shame in cracking. Let the Jesus inside you leak out through those cracks and serve as a witness to all around you.

            But Jesus won’t leave you cracked forever. He will come along to repair what’s been broken, and when He’s done, the scars of your cracks will be lined with the gold of His holiness, proving that you are more beautiful because of your brokenness. Your worth is greater because of your hurt. You overflowed the Jesus within you and then He came to bring healing and beauty to you.

            The apostle Paul writes, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of our compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-7)

For all that has been unspeakably hard about this year, I believe our cups overflow. Whether they overflow from the gush of blessings that pour out like a season of suddenly or whether they overflow by leaking out the cracks of anguish that rip our heart, they overflow. This much is sure.

            I am reminding us both…as you hold your cup up to the Lord, don’t get discouraged. If you don’t feel the rush of pouring from His pitcher, don’t get discouraged, put down your cup, and walk away. When that season of suddenly begins, you want to be right there, positioned to catch what He pours.

            And if you feel that everything He pours in just leaks right out through the cracks of your brokenness, don’t give up. Let the Jesus inside you leak out and bless those watching all around. And trust and believe Jesus to come do some holy kintsukuroi in your heart.

            Whether you’re gushing or leaking, allow that overflow to comfort the hearts of those around you. Be Jesus to them.

            Ryan, thank you for being part of the mending God has done in my heart – not just this past year, but in the past decade. And every time you see this gift, may it remind you that we are both broken and mended by Him, but we are also part of the other’s mending.

It's just a little dish - for coins or keys or whatever. But it represents all that is holy and good about the life we share. And I am so grateful.