Using the broken pieces

I have a decorative dress form sitting on the buffet of the room I do Mary Kay facials and makeovers in.  I have dressed it in garlands of pearl and bling to remind me that we are treasures. However, if you look closely you will see watches that do not run, orphan earrings and broken baubles. It is just as much the broken things in our lives as the perfect that help shape us into who we are today.
The abuse that I lived through gave me two choices: I could be tougher so no one would never hurt me again or I can take the broken pieces of my heart and put them on the Potter's wheel, let Him add living water and re-mold me, shape me and if necessary, shape me again.
When we don't accept the brokenness then we become a fabricated personality as we put up a good front.
 Over 30 years ago when I was doing insurance sales, it was all about image. Our motto was "Fake it til you make it." I can look back and see how that opened the door to being who others expected me to be instead of who I was created to be.
Forgive me for telling this story again, but I went up to a lady in my church about six years ago and said, "I want to sell Mary Kay."
She looked me up and down and said, "YOU do???"
You see I looked more like an unmade bed than a beauty consultant.
Her next question was, "Why?"
Well, I had taken the For My Life course and learned about Unloving. I learned I was the poster child for self-hatred. (My observation, not theirs.) To get rid of it you have to learn to love yourself.
So I replied, "Well, I know I have to learn to start taking care of myself. I am not a hypocrite and I figure if I am going to sell the junk, I am going to have to use it."
Morning after morning I would stand in front of the  mirror and say, "God, I don't see any good thing. Could you show me who you see when you saw me before the foundation of the world so I can walk towards that instead of devastation?"
I wish I could tell you I got it immediately. I did not.
However, I kept looking. During the journey I became Queen of Sales and Miss Go-Give for our unit several times, but it still wasn't who I was.
Unfortunately it was my daughter, Carrin's death that took me to an off-frame restoration.
Before I was just painting the rust. Now I am willing to allow my Creator to put me back on the wheel, break me, mold me, shape me until I reflect Him, not me.
Often He will use the broken pieces to make something beautiful. Will you let Him?