Shatter – Give the Shattered Pieces of Your Life to God
How can we shatter blue tiles and learn about life? Carol Harrison uses her experience at a ladies retreat to help us understand what God can do with shattered lives.
Shatter
I have always enjoyed doing crafts and a ladies retreat I attended with a good friend offered the chance for crafting in the afternoon. My friend and I share many similar interests but making a craft project is not one of them. However, she decided she could watch others, including myself, and visit. I liked the idea of a great visiting time but secretly hoped she might move out of her comfort zone and try something new. Either way we would hang out together for the afternoon, something we did not have as much chance to do since she had moved to another province.
Imagination Taking Flight
Pretty earth tone and dark blue tiles sat stacked on one table. Markers lay scattered across the work tables along with a canvas at each spot and a bag of hammers. The variety of objects puzzled me and my imagination took flight as I tried to figure out the craft.
The Theme? – Shattered
The theme of the retreat was Shattered. Julieanne, the speaker, talked about our need to shatter what binds us and narrows our vision so we cannot see what God is doing in our lives and the lives of those around us. She also talked about how we need to shatter the lies we believe about ourselves and hold to the truth of our identity in Christ.
Psalm 139: 13, 14 reminds us “For you created my inmost being you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful. I know that full well.”
Embracing God’s Truth
I do know that but do I embrace God’s truth and remember that he knows my name and everything about me. Julieanne mentioned some of the false identities we might fall prey to such as defining ourselves by other people’s opinions of us or by my possessions, or my work or by my failures. Only by living out our God given identity and allowing God to shatter the false identities and things that bind us can we live with purpose and freedom.
An Object Lesson
The craft time became an object lesson for the spoken word. I picked a few tiles and wrote on them words that hindered me from being who God wanted me to be. I wrote down those lies of wishing I could be able to do things like someone else and my fears of not being good enough. Then I placed those small pieces of tile in a bag and smashed them with a hammer. I shattered them as I prayed that God would shatter the lies that hindered me being who he planned for me to be.
Shatter to Create a New Mosaic
I opened the bag to find a set of puzzle pieces. I could no longer easily read the words I had printed. Only bits and pieces of a word or a letter here and there remained as a visible reminder of the whole picture. Part two of the craft time involved taking those broken tile pieces and gluing them into a shape on the canvas board which we could then continue to decorate with markers, paper and the use of our imaginations.
From the broken bits, I created a new mosaic in the shape of a cross and printed the words, Jesus keep me near the cross. . .It now hangs on the wall above my desk as a reminder of a fun time with my friend, who also took up the challenge and made a picture. More importantly it serves as a reminder that only Jesus can shatter the imperfections and fears I see in my life and by his mercy and grace he replaces the fears with freedom.
Shattered Pieces of Our Lives
This craft time of repurposing pretty tiles in earth tones and blues into broken bits and then making a mosaic remains a vivid lesson for me. Each tile had to be shattered so I could use it in a new and different way from its original purpose. Fitting those puzzle pieces of tile into something new without filing away edges to add perfection, proved to be a difficult and time consuming challenge just like life.
When we give the shattered pieces of our lives to God, he smooths the rough edges – a time consuming, often painful procedure. Yet he does it with love, grace and mercy. He knows exactly what each piece needs to look like in order to form us into the whole he already knows what it will be.
What lies do you need shattered in your life? What binds you and blocks your vision? May you allow God to shatter the false identities and create the beautiful mosaic of you.
Have you had a similar experience? Comment below or Contact us!
Carol Harrison
Listen to Carol’s program Puzzle Pieces Of Life or visit Carol’s website carolscorner.ca
Carol Harrison B.Ed is a speaker and published author with one book, Amee’s Story and stories in twelve anthologies. She is passionate about helping people of all ages and ability levels find their voice and reach their fullest potential.
She knows, through personal experience that some of life’s experiences are tougher than others. She encourages people that even in the twists and turns of life God’s amazing grace provides hope.
She lives in Saskatoon, SK with her husband Brian. They have four adult children and a dozen grandchildren.
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Images courtesy of:
Shattered Glass – Free-Photos
Hammer – BenjaminNelan
Woman – StockSnap
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