brOKen
ApplePie was wearing it when I first met her. I complimented her unique bracelet and she told me a friend made it to remind her that she may be broken, but she’s ok. We talked about the significance of that in each of our lives and went on with the day.
If I remember correctly, I was cooking my won’t-stay-single-for-long vodka cream pasta and we discussed the proper way to cut feta for salad. But I digress.
Fast forward a couple years. (Or has it been only one?)
I opened the package that was waiting on my bed when I returned from my Atlanta getaway, and there it was. The broken bracelet. For me.
Because more than ever before in my life, I need to remember that though I’m broken, I’m ok.
I still cling to His promise of wholeness. Nothing missing. Nothing broken. But in the meantime, I’m becoming more okay with my own brokenness.
Because God’s in the pain with me.
@coloraturajoy says:
i think i might want one of those bracelets.
(and that’s sincere…not just a ploy to try and get the 20k comment. swear).
Thanks, Alece. I needed that. Very much.
And actually, it reminds me of a line from the new Star Trek movie: “A stallion must first be broken in order to reach it’s full potential.”
You can learn a lot from a horse. Especially when God’s got you running with them (Jeremiah 12:5).
It was so good to hear your voice today, even for a brief moment :)
I will be chewing on this post for a while. The funny thing is, now that I think about it, I’m not sure I’ve ever let myself be OK, there has always been ‘something wrong with me’, something that needed to be fixed, changed, uprooted, or rejected. Always striving, always fighting. But I am wholey boken now, unable to resist the rawest parts of myself.
To be OK… to rest, and in this state of disaster… I hope that sinks into the grain of my (very stuborn) heart. You always have a way of saying what this aching heart is needing to hear. God uses you in so many ways :)
Thanks.
wholly broken indeed.
I love that bracelet for you. :)
And I think these comments are going to go through the roof while I’msleeping the night away.
(And I’m a Gabby Gritter?!?!?! Hahaha.)
@bahava says:
I like it! Also, the pasta sounds delicious–do you have the recipe?
I love that you have friends who give these kinds of “from the heart” gifts like this. I love the message of what the bracelet says, too.
“Nothing broken, nothing broken.” I’d add, “And nothing wasted.”
What NorEaser wrote about horses really resonated with me.
@atangie says:
Really?
That was my first response.
To be honest with you my head may comprehend to concept but my heart is having a hard time assimilating this truth.
That would be a good face to face conversation.
where are you stuck?
@atangie says:
If you really want to know I think this might best divulged in an email.
i’d love to hear your heart if you feel like sharing…
I LOVE that bracelet, well not the bracelet, but the amazing words on it. Aren’t we all broken until the Lord comes in and fixes our brokenness and makes us OK? His opinion is the ONLY one that counts and He says we are wonderfully made. Wow! I work diligently in our current trial to rebuke and ignore the lies satan whispers in my head on a regular basis and to stand in God’s amazing and unchanging truth. We are all broken, but in Him, we are more than OK.
Thanks for sharing this and thanks for being you … you are incredible, by the way, in spite of the pain you are walking through right now. Love you!
Love you!
@danielleH says:
what a bracelet, what a statement.
P.S. I LOVE tulips! I carried a bunch, just tulips, when I got married. Gorgeous pictures, Alece!
oh so pretty!
It seems like for the last few years, about this time of year, I have been in a place where I ask God to break me. Then I wonder why I would ever pray that. Brokeness hurts. But this bracelet reminds me of God’s promises that it was He who knit me and holds me together, even when I feel so broken.
Keep embracing His work in your life, my friend. His promises are always “Yes” in Jesus.
i like it.
Very cool.
Perfectly stated. Love you!
@atangie says:
Would that be a watch worn upside down that I see there?
@coloraturajoy says:
a lefty!
nah. i’m a righty. that’s my left wrist.
angie’s right. my watch is upside down…
@coloraturajoy says:
for why?
here’s why:
http://www.gritandglory.com/2007/07/17/watch-it/
@coloraturajoy says:
ohhhh. i might try it!!!
let me know if you do! i’ll be curious to hear what you think.
@coloraturajoy says:
actually, for like, half my life or more, i wore my watch on my right hand, even tho i’m a total righty.
i just liked it better for some reason. and then i realized it was easier to write if i put it on the other hand.
…and then the cellphone with a digital clock came out.
even though i always have my phone with me, i can’t stand not wearing a watch. it drives me crazy when i forget to put it on. i find myself checking my nekked wrist all day.
@moweezle says:
I love it! I definitely need one of those bracelets!!!! Its perfect!
Has it only been a year? Dang. So maybe I need to say something profound or something…but all that is going through my head is that – that bracelet looks really big on you. I wore it like everyday, and it got wet a lot. Maybe you can get another snap put on it or something. Sorry about that. Seriously.
that’s what you have to say, huh?! :)
i hope you feel as loved as you made me feel.
I’m super ok with broken. Because if I’m broken? Then I am WHO Christ came for…..
That MAKES me ok.
Oh, my sweet sister sassafrass… I LOVE THIS.
[i love you, too.]
mmm. i smiled when i recognized it from in person.
it’s been too long since i’ve been able to do that.
i love you… headed to bed now (instead of e-mailing you like i said i would) because i have to get up for WORK in the morning!
(holy crow, i feel like a lost farm girl in this big-city setting…)
reminds me of an AMAZING tune…being “sweetly broken and wholly surrendered”…and for whatever reason i’m thinking “brOKen” might make a great tattoo…
i LOVE that song.
and you’re right. that would make a fantastic tattoo!
I love that bracelet!!!! Awesome!
I like that. I may have to shop around for a bracelet like that. or maybe something more subtle, like a necklace under my shirt.
Or a blog post… hmmm…
http://ricbooth.wordpress.com/2009/06/02/to-whom-it-may-concern/
HT: grit
(is that the right lingo?)
thanks for that hat tip!
I love to read about where my bracelets end up. Kristi tipped me off. Thanks for most importantly sharing the love and the spirit from which it was originally created, and also for confirming in me why I do what God made me to do. I prayed for you a week or two ago when I read Ka’s Monday list/lefthand column.
I’ll tell you that the broken design is something that came out of an intense time of pain and suffering in my life. I simply had to be reminded that where I was at during that time was okay—there was nothing more for me to do but sit in the space where I was and trust God and rely on that mustard seed to carry me.
I actually only made a few bracelets of that design on leather. I know one is worn daily in San Francisco, one is in NYC, i think one is in KC, one is somewhere in Xi’an China, one was in South Africa (now yours :)) and the other is in my jewelry closet. Feel free to let me know if I ever need to replace yours.
Before I ever put it on leather, i actually did an installation of candles and a reflective mirror with the broken design on it. I’ll try to find the photos of it and post them on my blog today. I will be linking to your post to share it with my own friends.
oh i love that kristi told you and that you came/read/commented! i LOVE my bracelet. quite a few of my readers are interested in them… could we dialogue about doing a special promo on the Grit for people to be able to buy them from you???? i think you’d get quite a few sales out of it. lemme know if you’re interested…
is your blog separate from your pearlprice.com site? i couldn’t find a blog portion on there, so i’m curious. i’d love to link on over and check out those pictures…
@mandythompson says:
So much about this post makes me smile… Makes me feel like I belong in a sisterhood or something… Like… I don’t know, Alece. I don’t have the words. But I can so deeply connect with how special this is, because I can connect with all the “who’s” of the story… Love you & them!
it is a sisterhood.
i’m glad we’re in it together.