Today I welcome Christi Armstrong to my blog and love her insight and heart!
When I was a little girl, I LOVED candy corn. It was one of my favorite treats, and is now one of my daughter’s “go to’s” as well. My grandfather always had some around the house and I remember, I would eat and eat and eat, untill I got sick from so much sugar. Good memories for me.
As I was sitting down at the table today, looking at my daughter’s bowl of candy corn that she is diligently and patiently working through, as fast as mommy will let her, I started thinking about the process I used, to decide which ones to eat. I wasn’t a “take a handful and pile it in” kind of kid. I hand picked all my pieces and ate them slowely, section by section (I still firmly believe the different sections have different flavors), savoring each one.
While digging my finger around in the pile of yellow orange and white yummyness today, I thought about how, as a little girl, I always chose the the ‘different’ ones. You know, the ones without the white on top, the ones with no yellow or a forgotten middle section, the factory “oops’s”. Somehow, in my child’s brain, those were the special ones, the unique ones, and I would pride myself in finding all of those that I could and snatching them away for my own pile of treats. They were more exciting to me than the rest of the bag combined.
Isn’t this so much like how our Father views us? We see our broken, battered, differences as imperfections, making us flawed and unworthy of significance. But God sees them as unique life marks, created or allowed by Him to frame and shape who we are and who we are to become. He knows that to be different is an exciting thing, because it’s by being set apart and different that we can have the capacity to change the world around us. If we don’t walk through any pain, we can’t very effectively help others who are going through it too.
Our pain can cripple us, or it can single us out to be able to help others who are breaking now, who are realizing how different they are right now, who are getting pieces torn out of them at this moment. How else can we really help them, than by having walked through that fire ourselves?
God doesn’t look at our scars and see us as the good, the bad and the ugly…He sees us, all of us, as His children who have been wounded in the battle and if we let him, He can use those wounds to help heal others. There is beauty that comes from pain, if you stop protecting it long enough to let God close enough to heal you and use it for His Glory.
Give thanks for your broken pieces, because through them, God is giving you an opportunity to serve Him. Though our bodies or our emotions may be broken or wounded for a time, our spirits are made whole through the touch of His hand and this will give us the strength to continue on. While you are continuing on, don’t just carry that brokenness around with you, letting it weigh you down as you walk through life. Use it to glorify Him, by guiding others to Him through it. Allow God to create and fulfill the purpose and meaning of your pain.
Christi Armstrong
http://www.facebook.com/ChristiArmstrong.page
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October 17th, 2011 at 9:18 am
Thank you Christi for your post. It was very eye opening and so true. God bless you and I look forward to seeing more insights from you.
October 17th, 2011 at 10:48 am
Wow that is really inspiring. Especially for me who always tries to hide my imperfections from the world and tries to blend in with the crowd. Even when I’m hurting I sometimes try to even cover it from God (I know its silly). I find it so hard to let go and let him lead me rather than for me to be the leader all the time. I can really relate with Jacob’s ppower struggle fight with God. But I realise that I will never go far with this but I dont know how to let him in
. How do you ‘allow God to create and fulfill the purpose and meaning of your pain’?
October 17th, 2011 at 7:07 pm
nice one….
October 17th, 2011 at 7:13 pm
This touched me deeply to the point of tears.
Thank you.
October 17th, 2011 at 7:22 pm
I live in a Homeless Shelter. Everyday I watch the people here who more than likely are considered misfits. I am here so I know we are not misfits. Most people that come to the shelter to minister, minister as though God is a new idea, or these people are hopeless. You know what I’ve learned? I have found more faith walkers in this place than all my years ministering in the church. I loved the candy corn theology. It is exactly how my Lord and Savior works. I am Minister Sheryl Hysaw of Abound in Hope Ministries and God is the CEO. I am walking in the midst of the candy corn and watching God take all of the ones that don’t fit and raising Kings and Queens. Beautiful and inspiring. I will never forget the candy corn. God Bless you.
October 17th, 2011 at 7:26 pm
first of all…..
1-i would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart…..i received this in my facebook today,….i;ve been going through a very rough patch…at work and also in my own personal relationship,and relationship with God
2-i found out early this year while i was back in malaysia for vacation(i’m a malaysian citizen,currently working maldives),i had some form of depression and i couldn;t start medication as i was working abroad and in maldives there isn;t such facility to treat things like this.
3-as time went on since march,i noticed my condition was getting worse and worse,and the thoughts of suicide started to play tricks on my mind…but i never bothered…just thought of it.
4-my relationship with God has been an on/off ever since i could remember…as i was very much disillusioned by the ideas of a church and being ostracized by the church elder back when i first started smoking and drinking….and eventualy labelled the ‘bad company’ and was passed on to their respective children.
5-thus explains my departure from the church,and disconnecting my self from God…i’m not an atheist,i’m a believer,….a believer of God..but i find it hard to believe in him anymore. but stories like this never cease to amaze and inspire me.
6-currently as i’m reading….i’m already using and depending heavily on alcohol to control my emotions and whatever comes along the way.
so with all said and done,..i do personally thank you….for lighting up the way again for me to reconnect with God…although it might still be on a on/off basis..
thank you…
aaron saw
October 17th, 2011 at 9:24 pm
Thanks so much for this uplifting letter. To me it is the ‘letter’ of Life on God’s Terms and I Thank him each and every day for all the goodness he has given us in life. I am one of his imperfect humans who choses to Believe in Him with all My Heart and Soul, to Love others, to Care and show Kindness and to tell about how/why I believe in God and Jesus Christ and His Word, The Bible.
‘With God All Things Are Possible, God Bless Us All, Amen.’
October 17th, 2011 at 9:39 pm
This blog touched my soul.
October 17th, 2011 at 9:54 pm
Will God I will bless
October 17th, 2011 at 10:53 pm
Thank you
October 17th, 2011 at 11:36 pm
Loved this posting!!! What an awesome example of God’s love for all of us… Thank you!!
October 18th, 2011 at 12:41 am
I thought I was the only person in the world who LOVES candy corn. This has really helped me, thank you.
October 18th, 2011 at 7:15 am
Thank you Mark and Christi for an inspiring piece today. God loves us for all of who we are. He also loves us unconditionally, which no human can do, at least this side of heaven. We can come close, and Christians try, but only God truly does. I have a neuromuscular disease and on top of that which brings it’s own degree of pain, I got a diagnosis of 10 compressed disks in my spine with arthritis along with it. I have made a decision not to let the enemy win and keep me down and you know what, I am winning the battle. This past week, I have had little to no pain. I have been able to smile and greet people and get out again and have not let the enemy stop me. I know my God loves me how I am and that is enough. As I told you Christi as a comment on your Butterfly poem, I will fly in heaven and I will.
October 18th, 2011 at 7:16 am
Forgot one thing, I love candy corn, too. It’s the best.
October 20th, 2011 at 6:18 am
Thank you so much for taking the time to share this.
October 20th, 2011 at 6:53 pm
Thank you!!!
October 29th, 2011 at 5:34 pm
Thank You.