“When they all had enough to eat, He said to His disciples, ‘Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.’ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barely loaves left over by those who had eaten.”
John 6:12-13 (the feeding of the five thousand)

Over the past year or so, God has kept bringing me back to two connected stories. The first is the feeding of the five thousand; the second is Jesus and Peter walking on water.

I could go on and on about the lessons God has taught me from these stories, but I want to focus on the verses above. I know I’ve read them before, but God showed them to me in a different light recently.

The phrase that caught my eye was “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.”
Then it dawned on me… I have broken pieces.
I have rough edges. I have issues. I am imperfect. I have deep hurts.
I have deep hurts, and I need a healer.
I need THE Healer.
Maybe you are like me. Maybe you are broken; like a shattered clay pot, your pieces are lying scattered all over the floor. You don’t even know where to begin picking them up. All you see is your insecurity, your fear, the heart ache that remains, the residual pain, but my friend, there is a Healer. His name is Jesus.
He wastes nothing. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
Not even barley bread scattered across a field… not even pieces of clay lying shattered all over the floor.

Jesus compared His own body to a piece of bread.
“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” John 6:51

“And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:19

His body broke, just like that bread He broke. He had broken pieces; they were scattered all over the floor. But He rose up in victory!! He defeated death, and now I have life! You have life!
He knows what it means to be broken. He knows what it means to feel anguish. He knows, friend; He knows.
And He knows you. He knows you intimately.
He loves you.
You are the Potter’s masterpiece. He sees you as forgiven, complete, whole.
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” Romans 8:29-30

“Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.”
Come to the Potter. Give Him your broken pieces. He wants to be your Healer.