Broken Laafter 1/30/2023
Updated: Feb 1
You may notice that "Laaf" is incorrectly spelled. I assure you, there is a reason for it. I am not ready to explain it just yet. Follow me on this journey, and when the Lord says so, you will be blessed by it.
My name is Jackie. My work is always signed, "Jacquelynn Marie". I am a 31 year old mother of two. My heart is called to the broken. That is what this blog will be about. It will be the revelations that God has shared with me to heal brokenness. This is my second blog. Please, walk with me on this journey. You will learn of my dreams. You will read poems God has placed in my heart. You will read scriptures that God has led me to. Well, let's get to it.
We’ve heard the term “beauty is pain”, but we forget that pain can be beautiful. Perhaps “forget” is not the correct thing to say. We often CHOOSE not to recognize beauty in pain. Instead, we choose bitterness and anger.
Tonight, I read about a young teenage boy who passed away recently. He had Cerebral Palsy. This was accompanied with seizures, inability to speak, and the inability to move on his own. I watched a video where they did an Honor Walk. After they said their “see you laters”, they took him to donate his organs. His father made a post that gripped my heart. Part of the post read, “He will give the gift of life to so many.” (Donahue) In his pain, he found beauty.
We are drawn to the ache. Holy Spirit spoke and reminded me, “Beauty is okay, too.” It is not an abandonment of self, or another, to recognize beauty. It does not represent weakness to recognize beauty. Having ended long-term relationships in the past, I was allowed to recognize that the relationship strengthened me. Abuse made me stronger. The loss of that unborn child made me more empathetic. Pain hurts. The beauty that comes from pain is always greater for those who love the Lord. How do I know? His Word told me so. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
If anyone can relate to pain, I think of Joseph. Joseph was a dreamer from a boy. His belief in his dreams sometimes caused him pain. It caused him abandonment. It caused him to be treated as a piece of property. He was not recognized by his own family as someone worth loving. Later, he was lied on and placed in prison. Again, he was forgotten about. Notice, I focused on the pain? Now, let me tell you the rest of his story. The very one who had this pain, also resulted in beauty. When he was sold, he became the captain of Pharaoh's guard. He became the keeper of the prison. He then becomes the Chief Administrator of Egypt. The very dreams that he had as a boy, were the very dreams that came to pass as an adult.
Pain is… well, painful. But, see the beauty that has come from it and remember that it is okay to be okay. If the loved one left first, would you ask them to hurt? I don’t believe you would, I hope you would ask them to see the beauty.