The Beauty of Scars

Imagine we are sitting in the living room having a good cup of coffee, and someone accidentally breaks the favorite mug of the house. Our immediate reaction is usually to throw it in the trash because it is no longer useful. Sometimes, we do exactly the same with our marriage when we go through a deep crisis. We think that because there was a moment of brokenness, pain, or a season where we almost threw in the towel, our relationship is now ruined forever and we can no longer be a good example for anyone.

There is a very famous Japanese art called Kintsugi. Instead of throwing away broken pottery, artisans put the pieces back together using liquid gold. They believe that the piece is much more beautiful and valuable precisely because it was broken and then restored. In the hands of God, our marriage works exactly the same way. A marriage that has never had problems is not necessarily strong; sometimes it is simply fragile and has not yet been tested.

Many of us carry terrible shame because of our past. Maybe you went through a financial crisis that almost destroyed you, infidelity, hurtful shouting, or a season of total apathy where you lived as mere roommates. The enemy whispers in our ears that, because of those failures, we are disqualified. He tells us: 'How are you going to talk about God's love when look at how you treated each other a few years ago?'. And so, we stay silent.