Kintsugi (/kɪnˈtsuːɡi/, Japanese: 金継ぎ, [kʲint͡sɯɡʲi], lit. ”golden joinery”), also known as kintsukuroi (金繕い, “golden repair”),^[1] is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with urushi lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. The method is similar to the maki-e technique.^[2][3][4] As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.^[5

My Higher Power, aka God, understands this philosophy and obviously applies it to his errant children. Those who chose to believe, the men and women I loved and hugged in recovery programs, sat beside me beaten and broken by the drug and drink of their preference. It was the same story that we shared. Crying, pleading, demanding, swearing and finally praying to be relieved of the addiction that controlled every facet of life. We had tried controlled drinking/drug use, social use, prescriptions and, yes, will-power to overcome the demands of a harsh, unforgiving master.

We, powerless over alcohol and/or drugs, reached a crossroads in life. Either surrender and embrace sobriety or face a future incarcerated, institutionalized or dead. It was an obvious choice and probably the most difficult undertaking ever. Years of addiction did not remedy easily. We needed a fixer. And we continued to cry, plead, demand, swear, and, most importantly, pray until it got better as the old-timers promised.

WE WERE BROKEN physically, emotionally, spiritually and morally. We finally accepted that only a power greater than ourselves could restore us. And we discovered the Kintsugi master of humanity, an artisan of fixing broken people.

We were meticulously repaired with love and compassion, cherished and worthily mended. Our flaws were not disguised. They were a necessary part of our recovery and our service to fellow sufferers. Those flaws, those cracks in our surface identified us as repaired children of a loving Higher Power indicating to others,

If my God has done this for me, He can do the same for you. AMEN