Thursday, June 26, 2014

Beauty in the Broken

As I walked along the beach hand in hand with my six year old daughter, we scanned the sand beneath our feet in search of interesting seashells.

"Look at this one, Mommy," she said as she bent over to pick one up.

"I see, but that one is broken," I responded.  "Put it down and let's look for a better one."

"What about this one, Mommy?" she asked, again picking up a broken shell.

"Let's keep looking," I replied.

Along the way, we did find some unbroken shells.  We marveled at them and dropped them in our bucket as we walked.  However, my sweet daughter continued to pick up some shell fragments as well.

Eventually, she excitedly held one up for me to see.  "Mommy!  Look!  I know it's broken, but it has purple on it and purple is your favorite color!  See?  It's still pretty since it has purple, right?"

Through the eyes of my child, I finally saw the beauty in the broken shells.

I thought about all the shells had been through before they ended up there under our feet.  They had been, perhaps, a home to some sea creature, eventually abandoned and discarded.  They had traveled untold miles, tossed around among the waves.  They had grown and changed and become fragments of what they once were.  The tossing had shattered them, but also polished them.  Eventually, they had come to rest right there in that spot, decorating the sand like confetti scattered about on the floor of a party and the beach would not have been the same without them.  Their journey ended beneath my toes and in the fingers of my sweet little girl.  While she was fascinated, I had discounted them as broken and useless.  She made me realize that, even in their brokenness, those delicate shells still had something to offer.

It seems that people are often like those pretty seashells.  We travel great distances, both figurative and literal.  Along the way, we get beaten and bruised; injured and scarred.  Some of us end up more broken than others.

Just like those shells, though, we still have something beautiful to give.  We have talents and gifts that are unique to each of us.  Sometimes, they are difficult to see, but they shine through the jagged cracks when we let them and when we make an effort to see them.

As I looked at those shells with the fresh perspective my daughter had given me, I was reminded that there is beauty to be found in the broken.  There are stories, fears, hopes, and dreams.  They are there, in pieces and fragments, among the patterns and crevices.  Often, we just need to adjust our lens a bit so we can see them more clearly and appreciate them more fully.


27 comments:

Janine Huldie said...

Sometimes, it just takes our kids to teach us a lesson like this. Loved how your daughter saw the purple color, which you love that you might have looked over, because the shell was broken. Definitely made me smile :)

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Thanks Janine! Thing can definitely be different when seen through the eyes of a child.

MamaRabia said...

I love what you've said here, Lisa. This is the reason I have a car console full of rocks. Benjamin brings them to me so proudly and I just can't bear to get rid of them! And we all thought you were taking a blog break...Here you are making profound observations and composing posts while at the beach!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

:-) It is amazing how much the wheels start turning when you TRY to relax!

Tamara Bowman said...

This is beautiful. Scarlet loves shells, but right now it's all about rocks. And her perspectives on them and what makes each one special is very inspiring to me.
Seeing the purple is so special!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Rocks are a lot like shells, I think. Each one is unique and has a story.

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Thanks, Katie!

Dana said...

I love, love, love this. Children can see the beauty, but sometimes we lose that perspective as adults. I will remind myself of this post in a few weeks, when my kids are gathering seashells on the beach.

R.F. Dietz said...

I love the metaphorical depth this post has. It's so true, and we're just as delicate as those shells as we move through time. I once read that children will show us the way to a better life if we let them, and your daughter has shown me today!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Thanks, Dana! Children can definitely see things we cannot. I hope you find lots of beautiful shells at the beach!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Aw, thanks! People are definitely delicate and we can break. But, I so appreciate my sweet girl pointing out that there is still beauty, even when something is broken.

Nikki Stevens said...

What a beautiful point of view. I know I could spend a little more energy finding the good in people before discounting them because of a poor first impression.

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

I think all of us could! :-)

The Dose of Reality said...

Out of the mouths of babes. It's so true. This one may be broken but it has purple and is so pretty. Lovely, just lovely. Thank you for this beautiful and meaningful post, Lisa! I'll be thinking about it all day. --Lisa

Tiffany {A Touch of Grace} said...

Those little minds of theirs can teach us so much. All of us have broken parts, but we are all still beautiful. Beautiful post.
Thanks for linking up at the Shine Blog Hop!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

So glad it touched you. The perspective of children truly is amazing.

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Thank you. I have learned a lot form my kids over the years.

Alison said...

There is beauty in imperfection. Children teach us so much.

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Yes and yes! :-)

Kristi Rieger Campbell said...

Lisa, this is gorgeous and so so true. Here's to your six year old seeing the beauty in the broken, and you seeing it through her, and sharing those insights with us. Perfection. xo

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Thanks, Kristi!

Tricia at Raising Humans said...

Beautiful. Yes, broken is beautiful.

Jennifer Barbour said...

There is a lot of beauty in the broken. We can learn so much from our kids....as long as we're listening.

Stephanie Sprenger said...

Lisa, that was beautiful. So glad I read that today! Thanks for sharing such a lovely, wise perspective.

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Thanks Tricia!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Amen! We have to liste, but they definitely have a lot to teach us.

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Thanks Stephanie!

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