When you look at yourself and reflect on your life, do you see parts that are broken? Are there bad habits, past mistakes, wrecked relationships, flaws, faults, fears, failures and weaknesses? We all have stuff that we wish we could wave a magic wand at and make right. If only we could snap our fingers and make our troubles disappear. Or if we could just be more disciplined so that we make the best choices and work hard to correct what is wrong. We may make self-improvement plans, resolutions and read self-help books and think about how everything would be better if we could fix the parts of us that need fixing. People would like us more, we’d be more attractive, we’d have more confidence, we could really live our lives to the fullest. Maybe if we finally get our acts together, we’d be good enough to present ourselves in a way that makes God proud.

But this way of thinking is all wrong. God wants to hear our calls when we are broken. God wants to join us in the pit, befriend us when we are imprisoned, bring us strength when we are at our weakest. Don’t wait for a time when you get better or become the new-improved-you to seek and make a commitment to give yourself away to God. Never do we need a Higher Power more than when we are struggling. Never is God’s Radical Grace more life-giving, life-saving, and life-fulfilling than when we are falling apart and realize we cannot go it alone.

Never do you need God’s Love more than when you cannot love yourself. Never do you need God’s peace more than when your thoughts are filled with anxiety and hopelessness. Fixing yourself isn’t about what you do, how you can work harder and make things better and make yourself happier with the life you create. It can instead be all about what God can do in you and through you. He sees the dreams He has for you. God sees the best that you can be and He longs to be right at your side bringing you to that place. So bring yourself broken, give God the messed up, ugly, disappointing pieces of your life. Ask God to put you back together, to give you strength to follow the right path, to restore peace, to reflect the love He has for you, to build your hope for a bright future.

God is reaching out to you. Please take His Hand and His Help to make you whole.

With Prayers for the broken