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For years, I’ve been intrigued by Kintsugi, which means “joining with gold.” This centuries-old Japanese method of repairing broken pottery uses a special lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold to mend the breakage. Since it highlights the imperfection visually, it celebrates the breakage and repair rather than trying to hide it. Kintsugi often makes the repaired piece more beautiful than the original and revitalizes it with a new look. 

I was first attracted to Kintsugi by the two “broken” hearts pictured. They were broken, and the edges of the “broken pieces” were covered in gold, which was applied to whatever was used to glue them back together. These particular Kintsugi “broken” hearts were made to serve as magnets or tree ornaments.

I researched this method online and discovered three predominant styles and methods of Kintsugi: crack, piece method, and joint-call. While, in each case, gold, silver, or platinum-dusted epoxy is used to fix the broken pottery, the techniques and finished results vary. The crack method concentrates on decorating the cracks or veins that show the breaks. In contrast, the piece method replaces entire missing pieces with gold-infused epoxy, and the joint-call technique pieces together fragments from more than one broken ware.

I found that the Kintsugi idea has spilled over into many mediums besides pottery, such as jewelry, tree ornaments, magnets, cloth, etc. You can even order kits of what is needed to do this on your own. To do it authentically (with pottery) means several months of meticulous drying and adorning with gold running along its cracks or, in some cases, even filling in missing pieces.

I wanted to “try my hand” at the idea but didn’t intend to spend months on it. It needed to be a weekend project.

In a world that often strives for perfection, I liked embracing something old and battered as a reminder to embrace the hidden beauty that may show itself through flaws. It could remind me of the beauty of human fragility and not to panic when something is broken. Perhaps it could remind me to stay optimistic when things fall apart and to celebrate life’s flaws and missteps. (For example, I recently hit two deer with my vehicle and am still without wheels several weeks later.) 

Challenged by the Kintsugi idea, I decided to break an old vase and glue it back together. If it worked, I could always paint the cracks gold afterward. That’s not the “proper” way, but it would do for me. So, I didn’t use the special lacquer dusted with powdered gold.

I placed the vase inside a plastic bag to hold all the pieces together, wrapped that in a towel, and laid it on a concrete floor. I held my breath and tapped it with a hammer. What if it’s in a thousand tiny pieces? To my delight, the top and bottom remained intact, and the rest was workable. That meant the top and bottom parts were solid and could be placed on the counter. I began the slow process of gluing pieces onto those two solid parts. Eventually, I had all the pieces “large enough to handle” glued in place. After the glue hardened, I glued the two halves together, but one tiny triangle was missing. I began sanding down the triangle to “push” it into place since everything had shifted slightly with the gluing process.

As it waited for the last step to dry, I wondered what it would look like if I put a light down inside.

Since light is much easier to see when surrounded by darkness, I turned off the overhead lights. Immediately, I was captivated. Slowly turning the vase, I saw that some places showed more light than others.  “It’s just like the Christian life,” I marveled. “I’m seeing beauty or light leaking out of this flawed and imperfect vessel.” 

We live in a dark world where many have placed their misguided faith in fallible humans, their institutions, and their abilities instead of in God. They may be cracked and scarred by broken relationships, broken dreams, job loss, or loss of house or business from some disaster or other tragic situation. They may be struggling with hopelessness because they are fearful and feeling helpless. The small glimmers of light showing through our “cracks” or “brokenness” may be the only light they see. Isn’t that what God does? His light shows through our brokenness, for He has brought our shattered pieces together into a beautiful, living Kintsugi. He uses our hurts and imperfections, for we are like “cracked pots” shining forth His precious light from within us.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 (ESV)