As we got into the process of
repairing this phone, I began to see that in order to fix that one part of the
phone, the entire phone had to be first deconstructed. Each and every part that went in to form the
iphone had to be taken apart, piece by piece.
Every single tiny screw and vital parts such as the camera and the
computer inside the phone had to be removed.
As I continued to watch my friend take out every individual piece of the
phone, I realized how meticulous he had to be.
Not ONE piece of the phone, not ONE screw could be lost. It had to be handled with an extreme amount
of care. About 30 minutes into the
process, I made a comment to myself, “Gah, this is such a process,” and as soon as I said those words, I heard the
Lord ask me a question in my spirit.
He asked, “Don’t
you see that I’m taking you through the same kind of process right now?”
WHAT?!? I was just not expecting a
question like that, but suddenly, things started to make a little more sense in
my head. In my life lately, the Lord has
been taking me through a process, and with that question, He answered so many
questions I had about the nature of the process He has been taking me through.
In my life,
my screen is cracked. Am I still usable
with a broken screen? Yes. But can I be used to the fullness of my calling with
a broken screen? No.
In my
situation, I knew for a little while before the process started that my screen
was cracked, but I got busy with other things and did not tend to the issue (in
blatant terms, I was avoiding it at all costs).
Well, let me
tell you something that I have learned: the Lord I serve does not let things
stay broken for too long. When I did not
tend to my broken screen, He did.
Now here is
the misconception: People see phone screens that are cracked and broken and
they think, “Hmm, that’s just a surface level break, I can take that to someone
to fix or even fix it myself (if you are a person who thinks you can fix it
yourself, God bless you. Now that I’ve
seen it done, I would never want to try it on my own) and it will not be that
complicated at all.” This was my perception of a broken phone screen, and you
know what? That was FALSE… much like my perception of the broken screen in my
life! I thought, when the Lord started the process of fixing my broken screen
that it was just going to be a quick fix, and can you guess what? That was
FALSE.
When the Lord
began the process that He’s taking me through, I did not see what was coming at
all. I did not realize that in order to fix my broken screen that He had to
take out every tiny little screw, hinge, and piece of hardware in me that makes
me the person I am. I did not realize
(yet) that what I thought was a surface level break, was actually a
foundational crack.
And boy was
it a surprise to me when I realized just what this process entailed… and in the
moment, I cannot say that it was a pleasant surprise.
But here is
the THING, here is the HOPE, here is the LOVE and the BEAUTY in the process
that that so many times I perceive to be ugly:
I am being constructed by the ULTIMATE Creator.
I am being recreated in a process
orchestrated by the One who knows my inner parts, by the One who knitted
my together in my mom’s womb.
Who better to take me through this deconstruction, repairing, and
reconstruction process than the One who created me in the first place?
With each screw that comes out,
there is pain and brokenness and often humiliation, but when the Lord strips it
all away and reaches the foundation, the broken screen, that for so long I
thought was merely a surface deep scrape, and He begins to pry each piece of
broken glass from the core of who I am, there is miraculous healing that comes. The healing that comes is from the only One
who can truly take me apart because He is One who originally knitted me together.
I have not reached the end of
this process, but I am promised how it will end:
I am an overcomer in Christ. (Romans
8:37)
All things work together for my good because I love Jesus. (Romans
8:28)
I am God’s MASTERPIECE and he makes me new in Christ. (Ephesians 2:10)
…if I was going to let anyone
take me through this process, should it not be the One who considers me His
MASTERPIECE?
At the end of the process of putting that
phone back together last week, you know what the outcome was? A phone that was able to be used to its full
potential. A phone with not only no
cracks, but not even a scratch in sight.
A phone, which after the process was finished, had not a screw, hinge,
or piece of hardware missing. The finished
product was a phone that was, once again, ready for use.
I know that I am fighting a
winning battle. I know that I am
fighting from victory and not for it.
And I know that as meticulous as the Lord has been to remove every tiny
screw in me and every shard of glass that pierced my heart, He will be just as
meticulous in putting it all back together.
