I recently discovered a beautiful form of Japanese art called kintsugi. As I learned about this ancient skill, my thinking was immediately taken to the faces of our local children in foster care and to the foster and adoptive families who have demonstrated radical hospitality by bringing these children into their lives and homes.
In Japanese philosophy, there exists the idea of “wabi-sabi,” which is to embrace the imperfect or broken. When using kintsugi to repair broken pottery the cracks are highlighted, rather than hidden. Kintsugi is the art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with powdered gold. The beauty is the way it symbolically embraces brokenness and restoration as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise. According to Kenetha J. Stanton who has written about this practice in her book, “Living a Kintsugi Life,” these repaired pottery pieces became so prized that people would intentionally break items to have them repaired in this manner. 1
Our lives are touched every day by broken things: marriages, homes, neighborhoods, cities but particularly, the lives of the children in the foster care system. Through no fault of their own, their lives are disrupted and, as a result, have become incredibly difficult. Even a mature adult would find it overwhelming, but these are children ... ill-equipped to navigate these complexities.
But then God steps in! The Psalmist says that “God places the lonely in families.” 2 It begins with a burden. Then, miraculously, God calls a family to step up to bring the stability, structure, resources, and love that begins the healing process in a foster child’s life. Like kintsugi to broken pottery, these foster and adoptive parents are the lacquer that binds up the hurting child’s wounds. And as this family demonstrates the tangible, extravagant love of Christ to these children, something remarkable happens. The love of Christ becomes the gold that adds beauty and meaning to the brokenness.
We celebrate those called to foster and adopt and are mastering the art of broken things. We thank God for those who, while they may not have been called to such mastery, recognize that those who have been called to it, need support, prayer, and care along the way.
Mike Clowers, Development Coordinator
The CALL in Pulaski County
1 Stanton, Kenetha J., “Living a Kintsugi Life” © 2015 akintsugilife.com
2 Psalm 68:6a NLT, Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Image Credit: urushi@me.com © Zedo by Gen Saratani
