Shannan Martin
About the Author

Shannan Martin is the author of Falling Free: Rescued From the Life I Always Wanted, wife of a jail chaplain, and mom to four kiddos. She's a big believer in community and salsa, and blogs at ShannanMartinWrites.com.

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
& you will too!
Find more at DaySpring.com
(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
DaySpring.com
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  1. The beer bottles where we live are green…a fun, bright color, and fun also when muted a bit as sea glass. I am still wanting to figure out an amazing design that will redeem them, and at least one family from unemployment…

    • I am so obsessed with sea glass! I hadn’t even thought about that parallel. Love your heart here.

  2. Shannan,
    Broken and well used things have “character”, but broken and used people can be “work”. When I think I don’t have the time or patience for a broken person….I need to look in the mirror and see the brokenness there that the Lord still loves…then pour that love back out. Beautiful reminder this am.!
    Blessings,
    Bev

    • Yes and Amen. There are people in my life who feel like so much work. And then I look in the mirror…. Uh-oh.
      Thanks for seeing my heart in this Bev, as always.

  3. Shannan,

    By God’s grace and kindness from other’s like yourself, piece by piece I gradually put myself back together. From this I learned not to turn away from those who still are (broken).

    I sincerely thank-you ….

    Penny

    • Penny – I’m so honored you shared here. There are a few people I love so deeply and I’m begging God to show them his love in a way they can feel it, so they can be put back together. This gives me hope tonight.

    • JDL, thank you! Oh, the things we could talk about together. (July???)

  4. Such a beautiful post, Shannan. I confess, I find it easier to take in broken things than broken people. Broken people hurt. I think I’ve been on both ends of that equation. But God . . . God calls us to love as He does. This is what I’m trying to embrace and encourage my boys to embrace. Loving others when they hurt us. Hurting others often (always?) comes from a place of brokenness. May we have compassion on those around us who are broken.

    • Yes, I feel every word of this. And then I think of the ways I have hurt those around me, people who love me. We are all a work in progress, in desperate need of grace.

  5. I am sort of like this, I like organized, but I like to see creative people re-purposing objects, I find doing that for people, harder. I really does take God moving on a heart to change it, I can only share my story and words. I could not leave the last angel bear at the store after Christmas. With a bow, after sitting around my house, it made a great baby gift, and a beautiful little puppy ornament with a chipped foot found a home with me. I am what I have heard called an old soul, caring and creative, and tender hearted as God’s wants us to be.
    He helps me guard that, and while we may all have different tastes, shabby chic, eclectic, or formal, we can agree to taste and see that the Lord is good.

    • “He helps me guard that” such a lovely truth. Thanks, Rebecca. I can feel your tender soul in your words.

  6. People can be hard, prickly, inappropriate, hard to love, dysfunctional. But if we strip away the titles, we find they are hurting, wanting to be loved, afraid of love from being hurt, feeling worthless, a hard heart from pain, disappointment and disillusionment. God has been having me ponder deeper of loving the broken is loving Jesus literally. I need to put this into practice with my boys and my daughter, and it can be extremely hard to love them as Jesus loves. But, then I’m being reminded can I again love them so I am loving Jesus literally? Broken people are harder to care for than broken things.

    • Oh, it’s so hard to love our people as cherished image bearers of God!

  7. Oh, Shannan, how well I can relate; I grew up in similar fashion. I do tend to be drawn to all things worn around the edges, but at one time I had such a dread to look at the brokenness in people’s lives. It made me squimish and scared, but God called me to be a counselor. I do believe it was so I could learn to sit with others in their brokenness and shame. It has been a growing experience. I still love quiet, country spaces for renewal. Thanks.
    Julie Joiner

    • Yes. I just got to experience a long weekend in the country and it was life to my city-loving bones. Thanks, Julie!

  8. I, too, am called to love broken people in our city–to see the light of possibilities within the shards. And sometimes I struggle with that. Thank you, Shannan, for a beautifully written piece that urges us all to embrace the ordinary wild where each of us lives.

  9. Shannan,
    I’m drawn to the older objects, music and people. The generation that can get lost on the younger busier youngsters of today. They need love & attention like us, but it takes a lot of patience to deal with them. God calls us to love everyone-as we are all broken people and we all need love!!
    Blessings 🙂

  10. Such an encouragement to bloom in our “ordinary wild” wherever it may be. Broken or chippy – objects or people – draw me in. Maybe because I am broken and chippy too…

  11. I’ve saved your post to read when I have a quiet moment and that moment finally happened this morning…with a cup of coffee and my little Maltese at my side.

    I laughed because we seem to be kindred spirits when it comes to appreciating old things that are battered or torn. I love to think of the life they’ve lived and how I can bring them to life again. I just started a Facebook page for my goodies, it’s called Patty’s Attic – feel free to look it up and take a gander!

    I fully appreciate your insights on loving broken people. I empathize with other broken people as I’ve had moments in my past that have put cracks in my life too. Thankfully through the grace of God we are made whole again.

    Thank you for this fun and insightful post!

    God Bless you!

    Patty O