Vibrant Lives

  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Inspiration Corner
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Inspiration Corner

Beyond Brokenness

11/9/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Everyone has a story about someone in their lives that has looked beyond their brokenness and recognized a valuable person inside. The person in my story is my sister La Vonne. As a divorced mom of two very small toddlers, I returned to my hometown to live and raise my girls. As a previous stay-at-home mom with only a high school education, I did not feel equipped to find a job that could support my family. Who would hire me with no higher education and very little work experience? My sister and her husband managed a restaurant in this small town and after discussing my dilemma with her, she asked if I would be willing to wait tables a couple of nights a week. I remember asking her, “Do you think I am capable of doing that?” She replied, “of course you are.” La Vonne looked through my brokenness to give me an opportunity to feel valued when I did not think I was worthy.

I am reminded of the woman in the biblical story of John 8 :1-11 who is labeled, the Woman Caught in Adultery. As the story unfolds, the woman was brought before Jesus by the teachers of the law and the Pharisees proclaiming that she was caught in the act of adultery.  They argued that according the Mosaic Law, she was to be stoned to death for such a sin. It seems that they were using the woman’s circumstances to entrap Jesus into taking sides. Either he would stone the woman according to their Law or disobey the Law by showing her mercy and forgiveness. But Jesus’ s reaction was never typical when it came to the strict obedience to the Law especially for those people on the margins.  
 
The dialogue regarding the religious leaders and Jesus unfolds in front of the woman without any input from her. I have a number of questions regarding the conversation between the leaders and Jesus.  Where was the man who was committing adultery with the woman? Did the leaders walk right in the private home to catch them in an intimate act?  Were there witnesses to the act?  Apparently these same observations were required by the Law if one does not misrepresent the Law and the woman's circumstances as the leaders did to Jesus.
 
Throughout the story, Jesus did not engage the woman at all to inquire about her guilt or innocence. He was focused on the leaders and their desire to stone her without a fair trial.  He held them accountable to their sin by asking if they were without sin. Knowing that according to the Law, they could not claim to be without sin, so they left the woman without satisfying of their intended purpose to stone her. With the leaders gone, the woman had Jesus’ full attention.  Jesus assured her that he did not condemn her either. Without condemnation, she was freed from the past but more importantly she was free to change her future. Jesus gave the woman a do-over. We are not told how her life changed after this episode but what is important is that Jesus saw through her brokenness as a person of value and gave her a second chance. 
 
Who has been Jesus or the La Vonne in your story? Are you like the woman who gets accused without a fair trial to defend yourself and are seeking a do-over? Or have you been the one to see others as valuable in spite of their brokenness? I am grateful to Jesus and my sister for looking beyond my brokenness to see a valuable person in need of a chance.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Denise seeks to empower people to live into their true potential...
                               Read More

    Archives

    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015

    Categories

    All
    Abundance
    Acceptance
    Adapt
    Adult
    Advent
    Adventure
    Alzheimer's
    Angelic
    Angels
    Art
    Attention
    Baby Jesus
    Baptist
    Beauty
    Belief
    Believe
    Belonging
    Be Still
    Betrayed
    Black Lives
    Blessed
    Blessing
    Bold
    Bounty
    Breathe
    Brithday
    Brokenness
    Build Together
    Call
    Captivity
    Caring
    Celebrate
    Challenged
    Champion
    Change
    Chaos
    Children
    Choice
    Christ
    Christ Child
    Christmas
    Church
    Community
    Comparisons
    Compassion
    Confidence
    Courage
    Creating
    Creation
    Creativity
    Crooked Lines
    Cross
    Crowd
    Crown Of Thorns
    Crucifixion
    Darkness
    David
    Dawn
    Decisions
    Delighted
    Denied
    Depression
    Determination
    Detour
    Disciples
    Discovery
    Divine
    Divorce
    Dry Bones
    Easter
    Empowered
    Equality
    Extravagance
    Eyewitness
    Failure
    Faith
    Faithfulness
    Family
    Father
    Fear
    Flame
    Forgiven
    Forgiveness
    Freedom
    Friend
    Fruits Of The Spirit
    Game
    Gift
    Gifts
    Gladiator
    Glorious
    Glory
    God
    God Given Gifts
    God-given Gifts
    God Moments
    God-moments
    God's Glory
    God's Love
    God's Timing
    Grace
    Grateful
    Gratitude
    Greatest
    Greek
    Handiwork
    Healed
    Heart
    Holding Space
    Holidays
    Holy Spirit
    Home
    Honor
    Hope
    Hopelessness
    Humanity
    Humility
    I AM
    Identity
    Imperfection
    Inside
    Isaiah
    Jesus
    Jesus Christ
    Job
    John 3:16
    John The Baptist
    Journey
    Joy
    Judging
    Labels
    Lent
    Light
    Liminal Space
    Lion's Heart
    Listen
    Lonliness
    Lord's Table
    Lost
    Love
    Love One Another
    Manager
    Manger
    Mary
    Matter
    Memorial Day
    Memphis
    Mended
    Mercy
    Messiah
    Messiness
    Ministry
    Mom
    Mothers
    Moving
    Music
    Mystery
    Nations
    Nativity
    Neighbor
    New Beginning
    New Birth
    New Day
    New Year
    Open
    Pain
    Paradise
    Parents
    Partner
    Peace
    Pentecost
    Persistent
    Perspective
    Potter
    Power
    Praise
    Prayer
    Preparing
    Presence
    Promise
    Psalm 23
    Purpose
    Pursuit
    Questions
    Radical
    Radio
    Randomness
    Remember 9/11
    Respect
    Rest
    Restoration
    Resurrection
    Risen
    Running
    Sacred Pit
    Sacrifice
    Salt
    Savior
    Scarsity
    Second Best
    See Others
    Serenity
    Servants
    Sharing
    Shepherd
    Shines
    Sibling
    Simon Of Cyrene
    Son
    Spirit
    Spirit Of God
    Spirit Of Love
    Stone
    Storm
    Storms
    Strength
    Suffering
    Suffering Servant
    Surrender
    Temptation
    Thankful
    Thanks
    Thanksgiving
    The Wall
    Together
    Tomb
    Tower Of Babel
    Traditions
    Transition
    Trauma
    Traveler
    Trinity
    Trust
    Understanding
    Undervalued
    Unfaithful
    Unity
    Unworthy
    Value
    Virus
    Vision
    Voice
    Voiceless
    Waiting
    Wandering
    Water
    Weeps
    Welcome
    Wilderness
    Wind
    Window
    Wisdom
    Woman At The Well
    Women

    RSS Feed

MENU

HOME
BLOG
ABOUT
CONTACT

COPYRIGHT © 2015 VIBRANTLIVES.NET

CONNECT WITH US