We have to find a way to love our brokenness
No, not loving ourselves in spite of our failings
But loving the brokenness itself
We have to love all the ways we’re late
And all the ways we missed the point
We have to love that we were scared
And that we were ashamed to say it
We have to love that we didn’t get it all done
And love that we imagined it was doable in the first place
We have to love that we’re such a glorious mess
And how we struggle to meet our own standards
We have to learn to love, in short,
all the ways we fall short
Because our grace, courage and capacity to stand
Our care of what’s broken in the world around us
Is strongest when we’re carried
by that which we’ve learned to cherish
And not when we’re mired
in that which we’ve chosen to hate.
Justin is a senior faculty member based in London. More of his writing can be found at justinwise.co.uk.