There was no way to fix it.
My grandmother’s China dish had slipped from my soapy hands and hit the tiled floor with enough force to break it into several pieces. Sobbing, I bent to pick it up. My grandmother stopped me. “Linda, you’ll cut yourself. I’ll get the dustpan and sweep it up.” I continued to cry; the dish had been one of my favorites. “It’s alright, Linda,” she said gently. “I’d much rather lose the bowl than have you hurt.”
That moment has stayed with me—not because of the broken dish, but because of the love that stepped between me and the sharp shards.
I think of that scene whenever I see the Japanese art of Kintsugi, where broken pottery is repaired with lacquer mixed with gold. The cracks aren’t hidden; they’re honored. The broken places become the most beautiful lines in the piece.
Kintsugi reminds us that brokenness is not something God sweeps away. It is something He restores with tenderness.
I think of people I love—people like my son, Allen—who are differently abled and navigate the world with cracks that others sometimes misunderstand. Yet their lives shine with a kind of golden joinery. Their challenges do not diminish them; they reveal the beauty of God’s restoring love.
They remind us that wholeness is not the absence of brokenness. It is the presence of grace.
And this is where Paul meets us in Romans 9:1–5. He writes with startling honesty: “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.” Paul’s heart is cracked with longing for his people—Israel, the very ones who received the promises, the covenants, the patriarchs, and even the lineage of Christ.
Paul teaches us something profound: We can hold heartache and hope at the same time.
We can carry people in prayer—children, friends, family members whose stories include cracks, challenges, or unanswered questions—and still trust that God is at work. The cracks in our hearts, like the cracks in Kintsugi pottery, can become places where God’s glory shines through.
Romans 9 invites us to love with perseverance, to pray with tenderness, and to trust the God who never discards what is broken. He gathers the pieces. He holds them with care. And He restores them with grace.
Reflection Questions
- Who are you carrying in prayer this week, and how might God be filling the cracks with His mercy?
- Where do you need renewed hope in God’s long, faithful story?
Prayer
Lord, You see every crack in our lives—every place where we feel fragile, every story that feels unfinished, every person we carry in our hearts. Thank You for being the God who never sweeps away what is broken, but gathers the pieces with tenderness and restores them with grace.
Amen.
