Time Out For Women-God loves broken things.

This past Saturday, I was fortunate enough to get to go to Time Out For Women down in Riverside. It was truly a wonderful experience, so healing and nourishing and just...wonderful. I had many good experiences, some that I want to share, others that I'd like to maybe just share with my journal! I am going to try, over the next few weeks to add some posts about it (from my 23 pages of notes!), but for now I just want to share this one message...

Kenneth Cope (now among my favorite musicians, so if you need any Christmas ideas I'd love to have any of his CDs-except All About You which I bought on Saturday) sang in between speakers, and also shared some random thoughts in between songs. The one that touched me the very most was when he sang Broken. Just before he started singing, he shared this thought: In a throw away world, God wont throw away the broken things. He'll end up using them to get his work done.
Unfortunately, I'm paraphrasing, but that's pretty close to what he said. Here are the lyrics to his song Broken from his album All About You:

Broken
Broken clouds give rain
Broken soil grows grain
Broken bread feeds man for one more day

Broken storms yield light
The break of day heals night
Broken pride turns blindness into sight

Broken souls that need His mending
Broken hearts for offering
Could it be that God loves broken things

Broken chains set free
Broken swords bring peace
Broken walls make friends of you and me

To break the ranks of sin
To break the news of Him
To put on Christ till His name feels broken in

Broken seeds that need His mending
Broken hearts for offering
I believe that God loves broken things

And yet, our broken faith, our broken promises
Sent love to the cross
And still, that broken flesh, that broken heart of His
Offers us such grace and mercy
Covers us with love undeserving

This broken soul that cries for mending
This broken heart for offering
I'm convinced that God loves broken things
Praise His name-my God loves broken things

So, broken cloud-give rain
And broken soil-Grow grain
And broken bread-Feed man for one more day

I've had so many moments over the past 18 months that I've felt broken-broken physically, broken mentally, broken emotionally, and broken spiritually. There were so many times I felt that I was just too broken to be a mom, a wife, a sister, a daughter, too broken to be me, to broken to be my Heavenly Father's daughter. Too broken to be of any value, or to give any love to those around me. But for all my brokenness...I realized I still have something to offer. I don't know yet what that will be, but I know that God will show me what it is in time. And I will be glad for the broken parts of me.