Making the Broken Perfect

By the fourth time we went to Target in less than 24 hours, I knew we had a problem.

It was move-in day at the sorority house. My daughter was a sophomore, so theoretically, the amount of stuff she needed would be significantly less than what she needed for her freshman year, right? Nope.

The flower-shaped pink ottoman was necessary to get up on the tall bed. The bathroom situation was no longer communal, and a host of cleaning supplies were now required. Her roommate had a cute, functional bedside shelving unit with lighting. How great would that be to match? And don't even get me started on the hordes of toiletries and snacks needed to start the year. I figured she'd be set until the apocalypse.

But as the mama, I wanted it to be perfect before I flew the 1500 miles back home. Glances across the hallway into other rooms and seeing rugs and curtains and, yes, even peel-and-stick wallpaper made me feel a little guilty that my daughter didn't have all those things. Passing brothers in the hallway helping their sisters carry the heavy stuff made me feel heartbroken that my daughter couldn't have that same experience. I didn't want others to judge her for having less. And after years of being a single mom and not being able to afford much, I wanted to be able to buy anything her heart desired.

If I'm being perfectly honest, I wanted to make the broken perfect.

You might not be moving a child into an Alabama sorority house, but let's be honest. Aren't there times in your life when you've tried to make the broken perfect?

Maybe, like me, it's through buying more things so you don't have to do with less as you did before. Maybe it's through achieving just the right look and taking beautiful pictures of yourself to post on social media. Maybe it's through jumping into a relationship before dealing with your own issues. Maybe it's through ignoring all the struggles you've experienced in life and shoving those painful feelings down deep so that others see you as "normal." Maybe it's through pointing fingers and blaming others for all that's wrong in the world.

Whatever the reason, we try our hardest to block out the broken, and somehow excuse ourselves from admitting that we ourselves are broken.

Lately it seems like brokenness is all around, doesn't it? Wars, flooding, fires, suicides, cancer, mass shootings. And no matter the tragedy, there are those who believe if we just would have done this, or if others just would have done that, all this pain could have been prevented. Maybe. Maybe not. But the bottom line is that we often believe that we somehow have the ability to prevent pain and create a better, if not more perfect, world without these horrible events.

And when we think that it is up to us to create a better, more perfect life here on this earth simply by ridding ourselves of all the negative, we are deceiving ourselves. We become so focused on how to make our lives and this world better that we forget this world is not our forever home. Our myopic minds fail to remember that there is life beyond this imperfect world, thanks to the only One who was perfect.

Our perfect Savior, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said, "This is my body."

Think about this, my friends: the Perfect One came to this earth to be broken, so that we, who are broken, could become perfect in the eyes of God.

This truth often gets dismissed because Satan is hard at work. He is loving the mess. He is cheering on the brokenness. He is whispering hurt into hearts. He delights when families are torn apart. He rejoices at the suffering and death that surrounds us.

But he also dreads the day when Jesus will return and make this world perfect again for those who believe.

You may be close to that day, with your heart ready to meet Jesus. You may think of it on occasion when life seems too hard. And for some of you, this day isn't really on your radar, because this broken world doesn't seem all that bad.

But regardless of where you're at or what you've walked through, know this, dear one: on your best day or your worst day, this world will always be broken. And so will you. But on that same day, you have a Savior who is not and never will be. He has given you the free gift of His grace, His perfection, so that one day you will never have to experience brokenness again.

Until that day comes, may you find joy and peace in sharing that gift of grace to those around you. I guarantee it'll be a whole lot cheaper than shopping with a college student at Target.