Show Notes
READ: ISAIAH 64:8; 2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-7; 4:5-18; 12:9-10
Another crack! I peered at the inside of my arm, horrified. It began years ago, these fissures that looked like my skin split and was leaking gold. Most of the time, it didn’t hurt, but I was ashamed of how I looked. I tugged my long kimono sleeve down to hide the new imperfection, glancing around to make sure no one had seen.
There’s a pattern I’m noticing: When I do something wrong, a crack appears on my skin. When someone wrongs me, another one appears! If something tragic happens, another…and the scars remain. The first time was when my best friend in this great world passed away. A jagged lightning bolt tore across my heart. Fitting, for that’s how I felt—like my heart was being torn in two.
The second time, I took a few coins from my guardians’ shop when no one was looking. As I wrapped my fingers around the coins, I watched the skin on my hand split. Yet another time, one who was supposed to love and protect me struck me across the face. As I apply my makeup each morning, I remind myself not to cry and make the ugly visible.
As I walked slowly down the path of flat stones leading to the tea garden, contemplating, a bush beside me shuddered. I leapt to the side, my hands positioned for defense. A man who looked like a Wise One emerged from the bush. “My apologies for startling you; just trimming the bushes.” His dark eyes radiated a kindness I had not felt for a long time.
“What is your name?” His shears stilled as he regarded me. I dipped my head, allowing a dark curtain of hair to fall in my face. “Kowareta.”
“Ah, meaning broken—curious given your beauty.”
“You wouldn’t say that if you knew,” I responded bitterly.
“Try me.”
Something about him made me want to show the scars, and I rolled back my sleeve. He barely reacted to the fissure. “There are more,” I blurted, “and they don’t go away.
“But the broken can be beautiful,” he spoke softly. “Would you like to know how?”
“Please! I would give anything to have these scars erased!”
“My dear child, you misunderstand. There is One who makes your broken beautiful. There is One who sees every scar and uses it; the greater the cracks, the more the Light shines.”
Fear and desperation made me clench my fists. “I know the One you speak of. Years ago, I became His. But how could the Light shine through me when I am like this? I am ashamed; there is much I need to change.”
“He wants you just as you are. Look, even now the gold is a sign of His love. Trust Him.”
I felt it deep in my bones, like a fire running through every crack on my skin: Yes! How did I not see it before? The gold shows that I belong to Him. The scars remained, but I felt peace—a comforting Presence. A still, small voice whispered: Child, I will use them; all these scars. I have removed the shame from them. Because of my forgiveness and my healing, you and those around you will see the beauty I create with them. Your name is not Kowareta. It is Kintsugi, my daughter. • Savannah Coleman
• Today’s allegorical story is inspired by the Japanese art of kintsugi (golden joinery), in which broken pottery is repaired with lacquer, and gold dust is sprinkled onto t...
More from Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens
READ: MATTHEW 6:19-21; JOHN 3:16-17; 14:1-4; REVELATION 19:6-9; 21:1-5
READ: PSALM 139:1-4; ROMANS 5:6-8; 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 We curate the caption and crop the distraction, Chasing the applause of a virtual reaction. We polish the exterior to hide the interior, Afraid that our true selves are somehow inferior. But in the quiet, when the screen goes black, We feel the heavy weight of the perfection we lack. See, Jesus didn’t come for your highlight reel, He came for the brokenness you try to conceal. No filter could cover the crimson cost of sin, So He opened His arms to let the rebels in. On the cross, He was exposed, stripped, and bruised, So the real you would never have to be refused. He was buried in the dark so you could walk in the light, Tearing the veil to make your future bright. The grave couldn’t hold Him, the stone rolled away, Giving you mercy that is new every day. You are not a brand, a post, or a trend, You are chosen, beloved, and called His friend. So drop the performance, let the pretense cease, And rest in the rhythm of His perfect peace. • Ty Scott King • Why do you think it’s sometimes easier to show people a curated version of ourselves rather than who we really are? What parts of yourself do you try to curate, edit, and hide away? • Jesus sees the unedited version of you, and He loves you so much that He died and rose again for you. How could this truth affect the way yo view your mistakes, flaws, or things you just don’t like about yourself? • Are there any areas of your life where you feel like you’re putting on a performance instead of trusting God’s grace? Consider spending some time in prayer, laying these things down at Jesus’s feet and asking Him to help you see yourself the way He sees you. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)