KINTSUGI

“Kintsugi is a way of learning to see individual beauty and to appreciate the value of experience and honesty.” K. Stark

Kintsugi is a Japanese word meaning golden joinery or golden repair. It is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver or platinum. Instead of hiding or disguising the damage to the pottery, the art of Kintsugi highlights the cracks and repairs as important parts of the life of the object. The use of gold, silver or platinum in the repair creates newness out of brokenness and displays healing new scars proudly. Kintsugi proclaims that usefulness does not necessarily end when something has been broken or damaged. The documentary on Kintsugi was fascinating and, as I watched, I started thinking about my life and the lives of so many wonderful women I am privileged to know. I believe the philosophy behind Kintsugi describes what we do, as women, throughout our lives.

• as children, we learn from the wise women in our lives what it means to be a woman in this world
• as young women, we struggle to reconcile beauty and sexuality with intelligence and strength
• as newlyweds, we take on the care of husbands and we create homes for our families
• as mothers, we guide, nurture and teach our children to be good humans
• as professional women, we put as much energy and care in our work as we do our homes and in the lives our families
• but most importantly, as female people, we desperately cling to our own identities as all of the work of our homes, husbands and families threatens to overtake all our time and energy

Over the course of our lives and in all of the things we do, there are events that occur, intermingled with all of these experiences, that cause us to be burdened, broken or beaten down, leaving us with anger, sorrow, pain and grief.

As women, what do we do?

We find a way to pick up what has been shattered and piece ourselves back together to wholeness, scarred but still beautiful. More often than not, we are better, more beautiful, and stronger than before.

Better, because what was broken is now mended.

More beautiful, because the self-love and determination and faith that has made us whole again shines through, golden and gleaming for all in our lives to see.

Stronger, because what has brought those pieces together is the love of friends and family. What has sealed the cracks of those broken pieces is the prayers we pray and those that are prayed for us. What has transformed us, what has taken scars and brokenness and weakness and pain and brokenness and sealed it back together against all the difficulty this world can throw at us is God’s undying, unwavering grace and peace.

During our lives, every day, through all of our struggles and experiences, we need to remember the joinery that keeps us whole and sound and healthy. We need to display our scars, physical and emotional, proudly – all of the pain, sorrow, anger and grief that have shaped us to be the wonderful women we are, these should never be hidden. We need to share those scars and the experiences that made them with others, to help them on their way back to wholeness

God brings us through our difficulties to be the people we are meant to be. He makes us who we are so we can do the work he has given us to do.