"And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." --1 Peter 5:10 (ESV)

What does it mean to be broken? It could mean slightly different things to different people; for me it meant reaching the lowest point in my life, destroying my family, hurting people I loved so much and physically surviving situations I would never have dreamed I would ever be faced with.

When we stray from the Lord, many realize what they are doing, repent and correct their direction. However, some of us can be stubborn and filled with pride, causing the Lord to discipline his children sternly.

"And The way of the transgressor is hard." --Proverbs 13:15 (KJV)

When a parent disciplines their child, it is not for the sake of letting the child know who is boss, the true heart of a loving parent's discipline is to prepare the child for adulthood and guide them as to what is right and what is wrong. Christ is no different in that respect, when one of his children goes astray, his only loving goal is to help them turn in the right direction.

The reason brokenness can turn out to be wonderful is because of how God can use it in our lives. It is something that can draw us closer to Him than we have ever been. Brokenness can make room for a contrite heart and repentance to bring us back into fellowship with Him when we have miserably failed. It is not lovely in and of itself and it is not the end of the journey. True brokenness is a tool by which God brings His wandering sheep back into his loving arms. 

I often look back over the past several years and recall many of the situations I found myself in and wonder how I was able to make it through alive, but in hindsight, I know exactly how. It could only be by the mercy of Jesus Christ that guided one of his lost sheep back into his care.

I have several missions in life now and one of them is to share my story with people in hopes that I can save just one other person (or 1000) the magnitude of heartache they could cause on themselves by simply being stubborn, selfish and prideful.