The Beauty of Broken Things

Kintsugi:
Kintsugi (金継ぎ) is the Japanese art of “golden joinery”—the practice of repairing broken pottery by mending the cracks with lacquer mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. Rather than hiding the flaws, Kintsugi highlights them, often making the restored piece more beautiful and valuable than it was before it broke.

It’s a powerful reminder that our brokenness can become our strength.

I often think about the painful chapters in my life—the moments of heartbreak, failure, addiction, and despair. There were times I wished I could erase them completely. But in truth, those cracks have become my greatest advantage on the spiritual journey. Being brought to the brink, shattered and left in pieces, created space for something deeper to be rebuilt.

It was there, in the ruins, that I came to know God—not in the absence of struggle, but in the presence of it. The pain became a doorway. The wounds became windows. And what once seemed like tragedy, I now see as transformation.

As Scripture reminds us,

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” — Psalm 147:3

I sometimes wonder: Who would I be without those hardships? What value could I offer others if I had never tasted suffering or known what it means to be rebuilt? It's the overcoming that gives us depth. It's the healing that adds gold to our story.

Just like Kintsugi, our scars don’t diminish us—they define us. They become part of our unique beauty.

• Our cracks are part of our story: We all break in some way. Embracing our wounds, rather than hiding them, gives them meaning.

• Healing adds value: Just as gold increases the worth of a broken bowl, our recovery deepens our compassion, wisdom, and strength.

• Brokenness isn’t the end: In many ways, it’s the beginning of a richer, more meaningful life.

“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are strong at the broken places.” — Ernest Hemingway

“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” — Leonard Cohen