Broken

The boys and I just returned from Panama City, Florida. It was Butler’s spring break, and we took a group of CRU students to a conference in Florida. We had a great week with the students!

All three Steffens love the beach for different reasons. I love walking on the beach, watching sunsets, listening to the sound of waves crashing. Jensen loves digging in the sand. Alex loves being under the water any chance he gets. He also loves looking for seashells.

Throughout the week, Alex would grab his bucket and walk up and down the beach looking for treasures. Mind you, Panama City isn’t known for its seashells. That didn’t bother him. He filled his bucket with anything that looked remotely like a seashell. It didn’t even matter if it was broken. I tried to encourage him to look for shells that weren’t broken, but he didn’t listen. I asked him why he liked the broken pieces and his response was, “Mom, they are beautiful, and I like them.”

I’m glad that God doesn’t respond to our brokenness like I did to Alex’s shells. In Romans 5:8, Paul says, “Even while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” God sees the broken pieces in all of us and says I love you and I will make you whole! I’m thankful that He doesn’t just toss me aside like the broken seashells that I wanted to throw away. He makes something beautiful out my mess!