Yoder: Broken Pieces
By Kathy Yoder
In the Gospels, a woman with a notorious reputation dares to approach Jesus, clutching a jar of spikenard oil, worth a year’s wages. Her life, shattered by sin and scorn, seems beyond repair, like broken pottery discarded by the world. Yet, in an act of courage and desperation, she enters Simon’s house uninvited, where Jesus dines with His disciples. She breaks her jar and pours out everything—her oil, her tears, her broken dreams—upon the Savior.
This woman is an outcast in her culture, her reputation a heavy chain. The oil, perhaps her dowry, represents a future she’ll never have. No man would marry her; no child could escape her shame. Society deems her worthless, her mistakes defining her in every icy stare and whispered judgment. Yet, she presses through the crowd, undeterred by rejection. Kneeling before Jesus, she washes His feet with her tears and dries them with her hair. Every sin, every lie she’s believed—those told by others and the ones she’s told herself—every broken promise spills out before Him. She holds nothing back, offering her past, her pain, her very self.
Others see her sharp, scattered pieces and declare her irredeemable. But Jesus sees beyond her brokenness with eyes of boundless love. He forgives her sins and restores her, like Kintsugi, the Japanese art of mending pottery with gold-laced lacquer. The cracks are not hidden but transformed, making the vessel more precious than before. In Jesus’ hands, her broken pieces become a masterpiece—a daughter of the King of eternity.
Look around us. We know brokenness. Families struggle under financial strain, hearts ache from loss, and divisions deepen in a world growing more sinful each day. Scripture warned of this: “There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, boastful, proud, abusive… lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). Isaiah’s words echo today: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness” (Isaiah 5:20). We see it in our communities, where truth is twisted, and kindness is often scarce.
Yet, there is hope. A broken world cannot mend itself, but Jesus can. His body was broken on the cross, His blood poured out as an offering for us. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Like the woman with the oil, we can bring our shattered pieces to Him—our failures, our regrets, our hidden wounds. He doesn’t merely patch us up; He transforms us, making us more valuable than before, like Kintsugi pottery gleaming with gold.
Isaiah offers a promise: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:18-19). Jesus is the way through our darkest times, just as He was for the woman who poured out her all. At times in our lives, we each face our own wildernesses. When that happens, we must remember that His love is near, ready to heal.
What broken pieces are you carrying? Lay them at Jesus’ feet today. Let His love be the gold that mends your heart, making you whole and beautiful in His sight. Trust Him to do a new thing in your life, for He is the Master who redeems all things.
Kathy Yoder is a devotional writer and Christian author. Reach her at kathyyoder4@gmail.com or Kathyyoder.com.
