Happily Broken

At the age of eight, bullets shot past her head as her mother and youngest siblings piled into a car. Not enough room left for the rest of the family, Clementine and her brothers walked beside the vehicle as bombs exploded beside them. Bodies fell to the ground. Dead. You were lucky if you survived without a wound of some kind. With no time to stop and mourn those you love, the exodus from war-torn Rwanda was a chaotic and terrifying experience. Especially for a child like Clementine Bihiga. Clementine wrote Happily Broken; Discovering Happiness through Pain and Suffering not to preach to people, but to come beside them as a friend who cares-as a friend who has traveled through the fire and come out on the other side. Free. Does she have scars? Of course, but she's here to tell you that scars can be beautiful. Pain and suffering can be beautiful if embraced with a full heart and genuine faith. Why me? It's something we've all said at some point, but what if we turned that into, "Why not me?" What if we could embrace trials and turn them into a redemptive part of our lives? What if we could not only appreciate the silver linings in our lives, but actually see them as beautiful? Clementine endured a life of many struggles. Family members have been murdered. Dreams have been broken. But Happily Broken is her testament that proves that you can take that brokenness and turn it into something radiant. Breaking refines and frees you. Crying is healthy and human, not something to suppress and hide from. In a culture filled with emotionally bottled up people, Clementine's story refreshes us with hope and encouragement. Tragedies do not define us. It's our reaction to them that makes us who we are today. You can choose a beautiful life, no matter how many difficulties you have faced and continue to face. You can be thankful for your brokenness. You can learn to value each shattered fragment of your life when you find out how those pieces can be used to mold you into something new, something that shines with the brilliance of a heart full of love and faith. Clementine has experienced it first hand and she would love to share with you how you can find beauty in the midst of storms. It's true. It really is. You can be happily broken.