I was convicted the other night as I was walking down the beach with my little ones.  Carmen and I were picking up shells and putting them in her bucket.  I was picking up the whole, beautiful shells and Carmen kept picking up the broken pieces of shells.  I showed Carmen the kind I was picking up and said that those were the kind she needed to look for...not all the broken pieces.  As soon as those words came out of my mouth, the Lord gently spoke into my ear saying, "Marci, brokenness is beautiful to me!"  It's not until we are broken that God can mold and shape us to be who He wants us to be.  It's not until we are broken that we can be rid of our selfish pride that knows no need for a Savior.  My whole shells were pretty but they represent two things.  In the beginning they are a fasad that everything in my life is great and glorious and I need nothing more to fulfill.  In the end, after being broken, they are a picture of a life that has been broken and put back together by the love of the Father so that everything is great and glorious and I have been fulfilled by Jesus!
Psalm 51 :17 says, "The sacrifice God wants is a broken spirit.  God, You will not reject a heart that is broken and sorry for sin."
Now, as Carmen picks up the broken pieces, I will be reminded of my precious Savior that gently picked up my pieces when I had nothing left to offer.  To Him, it was a beautiful thing.  Not that I was hurting and broken, but because He knew His daughter had gotten to a point where she knew she needed Him.  He knew from then on, her life would never be the same!