I love my walks in the desert. They are quiet and almost always people free. The solitude gives me time to consider what I need to do, to listen to an audiobook or podcast, or to pray. It’s such a peaceful getaway that my day is not complete when I can’t walk.

One of my paths takes me through what I term the glass graveyard. This is a large, isolated area full of broken glass and some unbroken pieces. I can stand still and for hundreds of feet around me all I see is the glitter of broken pieces of glass. 

I don’t know how the glass got there. This section of the desert has been like this for as long as I’ve been walking there. The glass is made up of old bottles, pottery, dishes, and cookware. The colors and types are many. Green glass, blue glass, brown glass, white opaque glass, patterned glass, clear glass, and so much more. 

All I see are the variety of broken pieces. Once whole, useful items, they are now sparkling bits of the beauty they once were. Oh, there is still beauty there, but nothing like what they were when they were whole and functional. 

So often, as I walk through this sparkling graveyard, I contemplate my country today, the United States. We are like broken bits of beauty, scattered across the ground, unable to perform like we once did. We lie next to other broken pieces, pieces of all colors and textures, yet none of us seem able to function in the capacity for which we were designed.

But, there is God.

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,

Because the LORD has anointed Me

To preach good tidings to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

And the opening of the prison to those who are bound… Is. 61:1 NKJV

This prophecy in Isaiah foretold of Jesus and the work He would do. He can heal the brokenhearted. Heal them. Heal us. 

He can set us free. Bring those broken bits together and make us whole again. Make us a vessel that is complete in Him and capable of doing whatever He asks.

How do we get healed? How does this multitude of tiny pieces get put together in a useful way? 

By listening to Him. By hearing what Jesus has to say to us. Not what anyone around us has to say. But, what Jesus instructed. 

What were His two most important commandments? 

Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself…’” Mt. 22:37-39

The two greatest commandments. Able to take broken beauty of all color and types and make them whole. Able to remake each of us into the perfect chosen vessel.

As we walk through our day, let’s consider our lives. Are we part of that graveyard of glass? Are we broken bits, unable to perform what we were intended to do? If not, then pray for those who are. If so, the rejoice in Christ, Who is able to heal each of us and make us better than what we were. 

Rejoice and be made whole.

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD,

My soul shall be joyful in my God;

For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,

He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,

As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,

And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

For as the earth brings forth its bud,

As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth,

So the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. Is. 61:10-11 NKJV