A quote can change your life.
It changed mine.
I sat at my office desk working on much neglected tasks. The time slipped by quickly and before I knew it, the computer clock blared an alarming 11pm. Still, I continued to plug away while I sipped Starbucks, snacked on cookies, and blared Lily Allen. The night was uneventful.
Then, it happened.
Like most bad events, they sneak up on us when we least expect them. They are like the monsters that lay dormant under our beds as children, except as adults they find a better hiding spot--your heart.
My bad event? I'd stumbled upon a bit of information via social media. An innocent piece of info that most people would disregard, ignore, slide past with their finger, and never think of again.
But not my heart. It told me a different story. Because the heart doesn't offer us rational thoughts, common sense, or moments of clarity; instead it cracks open as wide as the Grand Canyon and swallows us up like a vicious creature from another world.
My heart. Though I tried to fight the sadness brewing inside, it bubbled up and burst forth from my soul, spilling tears onto my keyboard. I felt cracked open, like a week old Easter egg that had been left hidden behind an innocuous place, abandoned and left behind.
Forgotten.
I only knew one solution, so I prayed: "God, I feel so shattered, torn, broken. Help me."
Shattered. Such an appropriate word for my inner turmoil.
No sooner did I say, "Amen" did my sweater get stuck on something on my desk. A small, heavily glittered Eiffel Tower that had been gifted to me from my Secret Santa. The force of me yanking my sweater made the small statue fall on my desk, cascading an enormous amount of glitter over my keyboard, clothing, and floor.
I cursed. But, only for a moment.
For my eyes caught the most beautiful sight. Pieces of the glitter had mixed with some of my tears. Fragments of my sorrow, mixed with the shimmering glitter, seemed to speak to my soul. An answer from God. Within seconds I had the loveliest quote in my mind. The words so simple, yet so profound.
She transformed her broken pieces
and turned them into glitter.
In ten mere words, I was changed. The quote made me smile. Instantly I was reminded I'd survived some horrific events in my life and made it out a better, more whole person. I'd turned things meant to harm me into beauty. I'd turned pain into love. I'd turned hopelessness into victory. I'd turned lack into wealth. I'd turned a broken heart into faith.
I had transformed my shattered pieces into glitter. And, if I can do it.
So can you.
-C.S. Stuart
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