THE BROKEN ROAD

Not too long ago I fell in love with a song by Rascal Flats called “God Bless the Broken Road”. This beautiful song tells the tale of a man who upon finding love reflects on all of the broken relationships of his past. Those heartbreaks of his past became the “broken road” leading to his true love. Here are some of the lyrics:

I set out on a narrow way many years ago,
Hoping I could find true love along the broken road.
But I got lost a time or two,
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through.
I couldn’t see how every sign pointed straight to you.

Every long lost dream led me to where you are.
Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars,
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms.
This much I know is true – that God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you.

A few months ago, I imagined myself singing this song to the man I would marry. But as I reflect on it today, I realize I should be singing this song to Christ. All the pain of my past – the heartbreaks, the failures, the mistakes – all that brokenness of my life has created a path that led directly to Jesus. God called to me during my lowest period – He loved me and used my pain to restore my hope in Him.

In Philippians 3:13b-14, Paul writes, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” That sounds great, right? But we all know how difficult that can be.

If you’re a visual person like me, I imagine the path that leads to Christ is much like a mosaic portrait (see picture below). A mosaic is a picture made up of small pieces of broken stone, glass, or tile. Individually, those pieces aren’t worth much and may even bring harm to someone holding them. But when pieced together, they create a beautiful and often expensive piece of art. Think of your life as a mosaic – all those broken pieces of your life, all those hurt places, those places you’d like to forget – instead of trying to hide them, think instead of how God can piece those together and make a beautiful, very worthwhile life.

*Image courtesy of Yahoo Images