Pastor's Perspective Articles:

April 2008: Elder Phil Steckmann
March 2008: Elder Ed Gann
February 2008: Elder Rob Wiggins
January 2008: Elder Dr. Steve Stephens
December 2007: Elder's Perspective
November 2007: Thankful for Broken Things
October 2007: God Rubs Off
September 2007: Have you ever gotten it wrong?
August 2007: Belize Journal, July '07
July 2007: What's the picture of the church?
June 2007: Making the Complex Simple
May 2007: Majesty

November 2007 - Thankful for Broken Things

When is having something broken a good thing? Over 20 years ago when our boys were small and our ministry had shifted to the Portland area, we took a vacation trip to California. We had a great time visiting friends and riding theme park rides. We decided to take the long route home along highway 101 and then over to the coast through the Redwoods. As we started up one of the steep grades the power steering on the car went out. Being the poor mechanic that I am, I just figured that I had to steer a little harder. What I didn’t know was that the belt that ran the power steering also ran the fan. Most of the way up the hill, when the steam began to rise and the engine labored,
I realized I had to park the car. With no cell phones, I had to hitch a ride into town and get a tow truck. We ended up being stranded in Willetts, California with two little kids, until my dad brought a pick up and tow bar from Oregon to rescue us. That broken car cost us $1,500 to fix in the early '80's. It was a fortune, but it taught me a valuable lesson that I've never forgotten.

When is having something broken a good thing? When our response adds to our faith, sets us on a different path, or reveals truth to us that we'd never learn otherwise. What kind of broken things do we face in our marriages, families, relationships and workplaces?

By God's grace when we decide to fix what's broken, to be able to salvage what's valuable, we can be thankful for broken things, because without the brokenness there wouldn't have been real growth. That's why Paul said:

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly
about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. II Corinthians 12:9-10

Paul knew the power of brokenness. He knew that it was then, that the power of God could rest on Him (or us) in an unusual way. If we in our humility seek His restoration, forgiveness, or solutions, God will meet us. Willetts, California, the skunk train, and hot September days have been forever etched in my memory. It was embarrassing to have my dad rescue us. But that's what dad's do. Our heavenly father wants to sort through our broken things and find different futures. When is having something broken a good thing? When Christ's power rests on me and brokenness is the beginning of real change.

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