“Just because you don’t see tears, it doesn’t mean the person has not cried.”
It’s not very often that you put the words “beautiful” and “broken” in the same sentence. And yet, those two words have resonated with me deeply as I have been experiencing personal and professional transition. It’s been during this process that I have come to appreciate the benefits of what is known as the pruning process; which essentially removes that which is damaged or unproductive for the ultimate benefit of growth.
I shared a “Beautifully Broken” post with some of my social media friends recently and asked what it meant to them.
Lisa T. said, “Understanding that in order for your beauty to shine through the way God intended, there is a breaking in the soul, a breaking away from soul ties, old hurts, pains, ideals that is NECESSARY! I’m a living witness that on the other side of being broken, God gave me beauty for my ashes and brokenness. I am whole.”
Tamara J. said, “The balance between knowing when to get out the way so God can do what He does and standing in my own truth and power being aligned with time. The cost to know this truth is beyond words—Broken Beautifully.”
Q.L. shared this powerful testimony, “What happened when I came to on June 28th 2018 after a failed suicide attempt. God told me that I may have tried ending my broken body; but all it did was break open my heart even wider to allow the love of those around me in deeper. Filling and breathing into me the love of my brothers and sisters to the point of willing me back into wanting to survive and more so to THRIVE.”
Life-changing stories that put those words into perspective right?
I previewed the new movie BEAUTIFULLY BROKEN, which opens nationally in 600 theaters this weekend. And as you can imagine, given the powerful personal examples shared above, I was glued to the screen as tears rolled down my face and that inner connection and understanding resonated as I watched intently.
“Beautifully Broken” is a powerful faith-based film based on a true story of three families, and how their brokenness unites each of them toward hope, compassion, redemption and forgiveness; depicting how God can restore you even after the unthinkable occurs; you never know who He will use to help you.
“Beautifully Broken” follows three fathers, of three very different families, each desperately struggling to hold their families together. Although worlds apart, the lives of these families become intertwined when two girls form an unlikely friendship. While the Hartley family struggles with dark secrets in upper middle-class America, their daughter Andrea finds comfort only in her letters to pen pal, Umuhoza Mwiaerwa, a girl from war-torn Rwanda whose family narrowly escaped death to find shelter in a refugee camp.
As Umuhoza’s father turns his life around, he realizes the only way to save his family is by working to save all refugee families. His efforts pay off, while Andrea’s father Randy Hartley’s situation seems to continue to spiral out of control. A trip to the other side of the world, into the center of devastation and conflict, may be the unlikely answer that changes everything for all the families while also teaching them the power of forgiveness.
Compassion International Ministries is the real-life organization that connected the two young girls through their Sponsor A Child program. Compassion is a child-advocacy ministry that works tirelessly in the fight against global poverty by working with the churches to lift children out of spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty. The organization partners with more than 6,700 churches in 25 countries.
The “Beautifully Broken” cast includes Scott William Winters as Randy Hartley (Lethal Weapon), Benjamin Onyango as William Mwizerwa (God’s Not Dead), Emily Hahn as Andrea Hartley (Toy Story 3), Eric Roberts as Larry Hartley (Dark Knight), Jessica Obilom as Aimee Mwizerwa (Trafficked), Caitlin Nicol-Thomas as Darla Hartley (Nashville). Other cast members include television personality and stylist Thomasina “Goo Goo” Atkins (Mary Mary) Alan Powell (Quantico), Eugene Khumbanyiwa (District 9) and Tammi Arender (Pitch Perfect 2). Christian music artists Toby McKeehan and Michael W. Smith also make appearances in the film.
“Beautifully Broken” is directed by Eric Welch. The title song is performed by Grammy Award-winners CeCe Winans and John Berry, along with pop singer Plumb.
