Giving a Piece of My Brokenness

“Different people need a different piece of your brokenness.”*

I read this quote from country music singer Jo Dee Messina several times as the meaning and message sank into my spirit.

A piece of my brokenness. Brokenness is not something I naturally want to advertise—quite the opposite. My instinctive reaction is to hide my brokenness, not draw attention to it. And yet . . .

What if my brokenness is the very thing someone else needs to see? Needs to hear? What if the story of my past brokenness is what they need for encouragement to keep on keepin’ on through their present brokenness?

In our world of superficial relationships, authenticity is not easy to find. Social media subscribers tout lists of thousands of “friends” and “followers,” although these are not friends in the traditional sense of the word. True friends encourage and invest in each other, wanting the best for the other enough to be vulnerable. Authentically sharing their brokenness.

It’s no coincidence that this blog article posted on July 9. This would have been my 48^th wedding anniversary. And yes, I still experience the brokenness of grief associated with this day. I’ve heard that the deeper the love, the deeper the loss. Yet in the years since that loss tore through my life, God has given me the privilege of coming alongside others who have experienced comparable pain. To encourage others through a shared familiarity with grief.

“Different people need a different piece of your brokenness” reminds me of a Bible passage that shares a similar message. In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (ESV), the apostle Paul wrote:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

We have the opportunity to offer comfort from our well of comfort filled by God. He equips us to respond to the trauma around us. The death of a loved one or the strain of employment loss. The distress of a health diagnosis or the pain of a prodigal’s rejection. Heartbreak over a shattered marriage or the ache of a fragmented friendship. In these and other circumstances, we’re able to offer a piece of our own brokenness, allowing God to use our experiences of sorrow to minister to others.

Eagerness to offer portions of my own brokenness does not come naturally. I confess most of the time I’m reluctant. Yet what if God allowed those experiences so He could use them to bless others in their trials? I don’t want to waste what God allowed for ultimate good.

How about you? How might God use your brokenness to minister to those He brings into your life?

*Woman’s World, June 15, 2026, page 22