On Full Display

<p>Something I realized about the world recently is how seriously broken it is. I knew this before, but I didn’t have any profound personal experiences to help me understand what that truly meant. I can recall times of sadness and hopelessness during difficult circumstances in my life, but those feelings passed fairly quickly. Now, I see that brokenness amplified; it seems to be everywhere I look. Starting with the onset of COVID-19, the world as I knew it, bright and full of possibility, slowly grew dark as COVID-19 dimmed my optimistic perspective. Ironically, it was there in the dark that I could see the world’s brokenness so clearly.</p><p>.</p><p>I learned to live in that darkness, the tension of seeing the world’s brokenness and being suddenly confronted with my own. In a way, COVID-19 has felt like a reality check. Beforehand, I was just minding my own business, living my sweet little life. I felt alright, not like I was seriously broken or weak. But when things changed and everyone was under “lockdown,” it was so weird. The fact that we—as a nation, as the world, as the human race—weren’t able to defeat this illness was terrifying. I didn’t realize until then just how incapable, weak, and broken we really are at the core.</p><p>.</p><p>But that’s when I had to remember God. I had to remember that even though the sickness going around is bad, He’s still good. He has compassion on His creation, and He’s still working out His good purposes (Psalm 100:5). I had to remember Jesus said that though we will have trouble, He has overcome the world (John 16:33). Because God loves us, Jesus died and rose from the grave for us, and we can look forward to the day He will return bodily to earth and restore His creation. I had to remember that even though I am weak, He is my strength (Psalm 28:7). And as I recall His Word, He’s using it in my life daily, renewing my joy. • Emily Rondello</p><p>.</p><p>• How have you seen brokenness on display, either in your own life or in the world around you?</p><p>.</p><p>• Especiall