By Darci Irwin, Hospitality Coordinator

Jesus. Nehemiah. Paul. David. Esther. Moses. Each of these names resonates within me deeply — to the core kind of deep. The Bible recounts their stories as each of them involved extreme adversity, betrayal, daily difficulties, personality clashes, differences in vision and mission and the like. They were people just like us who simply happened to live in a different time. What they experienced and what they were able to accomplish, with God’s help, earned them places in God’s Word. And from them, I continue to learn.

Besides the common factors listed above, each of these biblical leaders also experienced episodes where they could have thrown in the towel. Jesus was betrayed by his closest friends. Nehemiah was significantly opposed by Sanballat. Paul was imprisoned. David was rejected and chased. Esther put her life on the line to save others and stand up for what she believed in. Moses was ignored, mocked and questioned. In all of these cases, their leadership was tested, but despite the internal and external battles, they fought valiantly and contributed to the fame of God.

After my own personal leadership battle, I had a long chat with God on the beach. By the words and actions of a couple of people, I became extremely insecure about whether or not God had gifted me with leadership skills. Others were saying the opposite, but I could not believe them. As the sun set and the lapping of the waves soothed my pain, I sat there thinking and praying. As my fingers ran through the sand, I noticed a small piece of broken glass and could not help but make the correlation between that piece of glass and me.

I thought about how glass is made, the extreme process – how from canyons come rocks – from rocks come sand – and from sand comes glass. A smoldering, intense, exhausting procedure indeed. Twisting and turning, the glass becomes a vase or a bottle, a figurine or a window, a light bulb, or the imaginative would say a slipper. It can be used for noble or meager purposes, but that is up to the owner.

But what happens when the window cracks, the light bulb burns, or the bottle is dropped? What then? The glass no longer remains in a state that fulfills its intended purpose and so, to the trash it goes. Or, in my case, a broken piece left on the beach it waits. It waits to be found by one who recognizes that although not a slipper or figurine, it still remains in its intended state – not purpose, but state. It is and will forever be … glass. Even if it is broken, it does not cease being glass.

As I held the little piece of glass in my hand, I thought, “And so it is with life … with leadership.” Even if a leader changes her purpose, she never changes her state. Even if broken by the carelessness of others, she does not cease being a leader. For leadership is not about what you do, but about who you are. Gladly, like me, the broken piece of glass in my hand was not without hope. It could be used in a mosaic, or burned and formed to make something new. Whatever its future – if only for this illustration – even if broken, it was glass. Even when broken and tested, by God’s astounding grace, I am a leader.

Now I am infatuated with broken glass.

A few weeks ago while I was in Israel, I walked along the Mediterranean and saw the most beautiful pieces of sea glass. I collected dozens of small pieces – green, blue, brown and clear. I will preserve and form them into a mosaic to continually remind me that questioning IF I am a leader is not where my mind’s attention should focus. Instead, my focus should continue to be on God, His Word, His people, and rest in His will. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Fractures well-cured make us more strong.” What a relief! If we did not heal from our breaks, what hope would we have? The Psalmist says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed” (Psalm 34:18). Some would have you believe that a crushed spirit, that brokenness, pleases God. My understanding of God and His Word says no such thing. Rather, He wants to bind us up, make us whole, heal us, restore us and put us back together again – use us for something beautiful.

So if you are broken, if you are feeling cracked, if someone has injured you, betrayed your confidence, underestimated you or has not considered your full potential, may you - oh please - may you know that you can be used. God knows how to professionally restore people who have been broken, because even if your purpose changes, your state never does.