Does your heart need mending?
God mends our suffering hearts, but God does not erase the scars. Instead, God heals us in a way that we move beyond our hurts without losing what we have been through. Our wounds, our scars, our past ups and downs, our joys and our sorrows all make us who we are. God wants us to remain our unique selves while making sure that the hurts and pains we suffer no longer have power over us. God always offers us new life despite what we suffer.
Jesus is no stranger to how God heals. After his crucifixion he still carried the marks of the wounds in his hands and side, but they no longer caused him pain. His resurrection moved him beyond the cross to new life. The cross left its marks on Jesus, but those marks became a sign of his victory, not his defeat.
So it is when God mends our hearts. Our heart may be full of patches and stitching, the signs of God’s work on us, but we become more beautiful and more unique.
This lent, we come to contemplate the hurts we carry and where our heart needs mending. We also bring to mind the hearts we have hurt and now need to be mended. May this Lent be a time for God to mend all wounds and bring us to new life, new joy, and renewed love.
This heart was lovingly made by Mary Lou Torpey, a member of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi. When asked about the thought behind her creation she said:
“People have not always been able to visit a nearby store to replace something with a hole or a tear. Until modern times, mending was necessary, expected, and often resulted in something even more beautiful and durable than the original piece. This allowed garments, blankets, etc. to be used—and loved–for generations.
Our mended heart incorporates fabric from near and far: Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia and the U.S. Most of the stitching is in the sashiko style, and the patches have layered fabric to allow for blooming into something else if worn through.
Our hearts get battered and worn. God is a mender of hearts, so often revealing something more beautiful to ourselves and others.”