“How are you?” I ask
And she forces a smile.
“O, I’m blessed,” she replies…
An answer she keeps on file.
“No, really, how are you?”
And then come the tears…
She’s blessed yet she’s broken…
She’s not as she appears.
“This is so hard to deal with,”
She reluctantly admits.
Both answers are true
And each one of them fits.
We Christians are funny…
We must always be strong.
We can’t discount God’s goodness
Even when things go wrong.
And, of course, we shouldn’t…
But life does always hand
Us both joy and sorrow.
Our God does understand
That we sometimes do break…
We've not taken an oath.
That it's all or it's nothing…
When it’s a mixture of both.
Through the cracks in our hearts
Shines the light of God’s love.
O, our brokenness brings
Greater strength from above!
A challenge…a victory…
Another door to unlock!
No, it’s no bed of roses
But the benefits rock!
This is just what I told her
I’m telling you, too…
Don’t be ashamed to be broken
Christ was broken for you.
Doris Jacobs-Covington
July 28, 2014
~~Dedicated to my sister, Shirley~~
~~Author’s Note~~
God has been near to me most of my life because I often have
a broken heart. That said, I thank God for the tormentuous times
in my life. Unshakable faith comes from having our faith shaken.
What a comforting truth to know that God draws near to those with
broken hearts. You may not realize that God is near, but He
certainly is. Just because you don't feel God's presence doesn't
mean that He's not there. We must trust the heart of God
when we cannot see the hand of God at work.
Matthew 5:45
He causes it to rain on the just and the unjust
Psalm 34:18
"The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart;
and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit"
Psalms 73:26
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength
of my heart and my portion forever.
2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is
made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly
of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
1st Corinthians 11:23-24
For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you,
that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this
is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me