My son who was an elementary music teacher was getting ready to take the chorus caroling to all of the classrooms at his school. He gave me a plastic sandwich bag for each classroom and asked me to put 25 candy canes in each bag so that the chorus could give every child and teacher a special treat. As I counted them out, I pushed all of the broken ones off to the side.
At the end of the day, I wondered what to do with the broken candy canes. I popped one into my mouth, and it still tasted great despite being broken.
I remembered one of the students telling me that they were going to make fudge and sprinkle crushed candy canes on top that evening. The broken candy canes would be perfect for that. Not only would that be a delicious combination, the peppermint garnish would make the chocolate treat look festive.
The broken candy canes made me think about all the “broken” people I have met. I know people who have been hurt or abused to the point that they have very low self-esteem and can’t see themselves as the beautiful person they are. I can think of people who are so overwhelmed by sorrow, grief, anxiety and depression that they can’t function properly. I have met people who can’t see their wonderful qualities because they are consumed with beating themselves up over the things they aren’t good at. I have listened to people who have bought into a lie that because they are broken, they have no worth.
But, just like those broken candy canes, these “broken” people have purpose. They may feel crushed and broken, but they are still beautiful.
Oh, how I wish these broken people could see themselves the way God does. How I long for them to know how much He loves them.
My prayer for these broken people is that they would turn to Jesus and find their strength, their healing, their identity, their confidence and their purpose in Him. I want them to know that God knit them together in their mothers’ wombs and that they are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139). I want them to realize that the Lord who said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9), can use their weaknesses to reveal His power and goodness. I pray that they would find purpose because they have a God “who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (1 Corinthians 1:4). I pray that in their brokenness, they will turn to the One whose body was broken and whose blood was shed so that they could have life. I pray that they will find comfort, healing, purpose, peace and hope in Him.