It's no secret that I'm a big dreamer...A "God-sized dreamer".One of my many God-sized dreams was to share my story with K-LOVE Radio...And today that dream became a God-sized reality.
When I first became a meme and went viral to over 30 million people - all because of my physical difference (a port wine stain birthmark - and Sturge-Weber Syndrome), I struggled; and I'm sure reading over 30,000 comments from total strangers probably didn't help much.
Pain overwhelmed my heart, and I had some incredibly dark days. Many days I knew God would create something beautiful from the ugly situation I found myself in. But there were days where I could only focus on the cracks that temporarily shattered my heart.
Although my heart has done a lot of healing, I still vividly remember the initial struggle. I remember the pain, I remember how my journey took a drastic change two years ago.
Every time God takes one of my dreams and turns it into reality, I can't help but feel all the emotions...especially the sense of being overwhelmed with his love and purpose for my life.
The Japanese culture has a special tradition when certain things break...and while many may think this is a stretch - I feel God's response to our broken hearts is similar to their tradition.
They do this to celebrate that items history, its story, its worth. Even though it breaks, they still see it's value, adding even more value to the cracks with gold or silver - while most cultures have a tendency to just throw the broken things out.
But I feel God reacts in a similar way to our brokenness, if we stay willing and allow him to do so. He recognizes the beauty in our brokenness, and He honors it. While our brokenness and cracks often make us feel worthless and damaged, he can fill in our gaps with a valuable, irreplaceable, beauty - like the Japanese do with the broken items and gold. We feel like our value is gone, but God's saying, "just you wait and see."
Being cyberbullied and mocked for my appearance was shattering. Yet, there's no way I could have ever imagined all that He had planned for the two years to follow: having a key group of friends surround me and lift me back up, sharing the stage with Natalie Grant, interviewing with K-LOVE, going on the TD Jakes Show (which aired on OWN: Oprah Winfery Network), being interviewed by People Magazine, amongst many other things? Wow...What beauty.
If you're reading this and find yourself in dark times, fumbling around to find a light switch - know that I am praying for you. I pray you'll hold on tight, and stay willing and ready for God to use you and your story - as He fills your cracks and brokenness with golds and silvers.
It's always been my goal to "make a difference with my difference" - and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to do so with K-LOVE.
Thank you, K-LOVE, for the opportunity, and for creating some beauty with my on-going story.
Check out the article they've written about my story. Also included is one of my videos, a link to my blog, and my interview with them is listed at the bottom:
http://www.klove.com/news/2017/01/06/god-turns-cyberbullying-into-a-platform-for-true-beauty/
The Travelin' Chick,
Crystal Hodges
Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also find me on Snapchat: crystal.hodges
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