Broken Places

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Have you ever noticed how the negative things of our past can so easily determine our happiness instead of the good things?

I passed a drunk man on my way to the bus stop this morning.  It really disturbed me, because I knew him.  He is a wonderful father, an amazing son, and a hard-working husband.  But he does not believe that of himself.

As I approached him, he looked up at me and his eyes rolled back into his head.  He didn't faint, but managed to keep himself upright and stumbled on passed me without uttering a word.

I wondered what kind of pain drove him to poison himself, for that's what he had done drinking the local brew.  It was probably the same brew that had claimed too many lives already.

 I thought about him all day and wondered if he was ok, how his family responded to him, and if he had recognized me in his intoxicated state.  I knew if he had, he would have felt deep shame.

Why do we let the bad things determine our worth when God's thoughts about us are too numerous to count!?  (Psalm 139) Our inner lives, the thoughts that no one sees, is what unconsciously drives us.  How wonderful if all those closets were occupied by Christ! 
 
I'm finding that in my own life, it is the broken places God asks to come in and fill with His presence.

You see, God likes mess.  He's good at cleaning them up!

Today I saw this man in his brokenness and I knew God saw him too, not with eyes of judgment or pity, but love.

I pray God's love  also finds you in your broken places.
  

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