Broken and Beautiful

Last week, while working in the yard, I came across this tiny bird egg in the damp, green grass.  I was immediately intrigued and knew just what I wanted to do with it.  Today, the light was coming through my kitchen window just perfectly and so I began snapping some pictures of my little treasure.  As I worked to find an appropriate angle and waited for the right ray of light, the words BROKEN AND BEAUTIFUL danced in my mind.  I am a woman who refuses to believe in coincidences and who insists everything happens for a reason.  This means every little thing becomes a great big miracle.  I don't think my finding this little blue eggshell was an accident and I'm thrilled I refused to pass it by on my way to the weed patch.  Taking the time to capture a few images of it enabled me to be still long enough to hear . . . and to learn something about being broken and beautiful.

This Christmas my family surprised me with THE most awesome gift I have ever received!  They went together bought me a new camera--an amazing digital SLR!  Although I have been passionate about photography for years, since receiving my new camera, my passion has been revived and then some!  I can't believe it took me so long to convert to digital!  I LOVE being able to shoot, edit and share my photos within a matter of minutes!  There is so much my Pentax and I are going to do together!  But back to my egg lesson . . .

Being broken not only diminished my passions, it erased them completely.  When I focused all my energy on the very act of survival there was simply nothing left for anything as inessential as photography.  Even though I didn't necessarily notice my passions had been tabled, my family certainly did.  This Christmas they all made some major sacrifices to give me a gift that has honestly changed my life!  They showed me that wonderful things can still happen and they have touched a part of my heart that had grown cold and dark.  They did something so completely BEAUTIFUL for a woman who was once so unbelievably BROKEN.  I still have a hard time believing I deserve their gift of generosity and love but I intend to make them proud of their daughter, their sister, their aunt!  The thing about being broken so badly is that it enables an opportunity for a unique kind of beauty.  I am delighted with the woman God has molded me into!  I know in my heart He couldn't work with me with until He cracked me open, broke me beyond belief and left me shattered for while.  As He reveals the woman within the pieces of what once was, I see a completely new creation is being formed!  Each day, a piece of my old shell falls away to reveal a fresh, new Tess.  While my incubation period is far from over, I'm certain something beautiful is hatching.

Thank you, my family, for loving me with a love that never ends.  For imparting such beauty into a broken girl.  And for constantly encouraging me to be one cool chick!

I love you beyond belief!