Brokeness, An Opportunity!

Sometimes I think the people who have suffered the most brokeness are the best to minister to others in need. I have had the opportunity to do that; walk through brokeness. I'm not talking about a bad day at work or small fight with a family member . Im talking about "brokeness", the kind where you lay down to sleep at night and you dont know if you can face the next day. And if you do, you arent sure whose there with you. Im talking about the kind of brokeness that puts you walking around in a daze because you arent sure where to turn next.
I say that I have had the "opportunity" to walk through it because it was an opportunity for me to see the other side. I was able to experience pain and heartbreak in its best form. One day everything seemed perfect and then one day I woke up in the middle of battling addiction, with a husband who took me for better or for worse, but decided he didnt want the worst after all. I was alienated from friends and family, people who still to this day are a little afraid to be too close to me. My friends, well thats another story. People that I had been there for over twenty years or more simply disappeared. And there I was left with two choices, wither up and die or pick up my cross and let Jesus carry it for me. I chose the later. There were a few select people in my life that I felt I needed to fight for. I spent nights alone crying and went to sleep many times just telling God to hold me.
Coming through that experience made me aware of what kind of pain others go through and I am one of those people that had ignored them in their time of need and heartbreak. Specifically as a rehab nurse I was extremely tough on addicts. And being brought to my knees gave me a new passion for those that others are afraid of.
One verse that I kept hearing in my mind was was Matthew 25:40, "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as you have done unto one of the least of these brethern you have done unto me". Every broken person that passes in front of us is our opportunity to "do unto the least of these". Easter came and went and I watched as many people post "Happy Easter" or "lets remember the real reason for Easter", and I wondered how many homeless people they passed on the way to church or on the way to lunch. I wondered if they found out tommorow that their best friend was in the middle of an addiction would they be there.
You see we have the chance to celebrate Easter everyday, or for that matter Christmas too. Im thankful for my opportunity to search the soul of brokeness. It has made me aware of my surroundings. Its caused me to lay aside the frivolous things in life and go down the road less traveled. And its made me painfully aware of things that just arent important anymore. When my daughter Rachel was young she couldnt stand to pass up a homeless person. We would circle around and go to McDonalds and buy a happy meal with a large ice water. After we had given the meal to someone who needed it I would turn to her and say "you just fed Jesus". When is the last time you went out of your way to help someone in pain or in need? When is the last time you fed Jesus?