Shattered, broken, annihilated, fractured and splintered.

Translucent green sharp edges lay in a thousand tiny pieces on the counter top, stove and floor. “Nooooo!", my voice shakes. “Not again.”  A dish I use regularly, lay annihilated before my eyes.  I hear my eldest, the first one I prayed for, hoped for, thanked God for, fumbling for explanatory words that say she didn’t mean to. I already know this. However, there have been too many things broken in our house recently. And I don’t understand. A bowl, several glasses, a measuring cup, odd utensils, a young heart or two, wall portraits, and other things like video games and controllers etc., now this large green baking dish.  I try to reassure her with, “I know you didn’t mean to honey.” I suppose I was convincing myself as much as her. I guess when I looked at all the broken pieces I saw an image of myself. Broken and fragmented.  As I gingerly swept up the mess, looking down at all the many splintered pieces, I thought how something this shattered could never be fixed. Thankfully, that’s not how God views us, His children.  We are all broken at times. We are laid out and arrayed in an eradicated mess. Yet, He willingly forgives us when we confess and ask.  1John 1:9 says, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. All too often I forget this myself. I’m first in line to belittle myself and judge others prematurely.  I stay broken far too long, when all I need to do is ask my Heavenly Father to fix me. I use crystal glasses every day. There are few things in my house I reserve for special occasions. My belief is life is too short to wait until Christmas to use the “good stuff”. (Though I don’t wear my Sunday best every day, I do make it a point to wear a skirt around the house at least once more during the week.) Whether letting the tears roll down, or fiercely wiping them back, God sees the heart of all. He knows how frail our powers, a line from one of my favorite hymns, and Psalm 103. We wither and flourish like the grasses, and our lives mirror our hearts. It’s not that all the things broken in my house are priceless, but the people and the relationships are. I hate when things are broken, but I rejoice when they are fixed! Blessings.

"My Soul, Now Bless Thy Maker"
by Johann Gramann, 1487-1541

1. My soul, now bless thy Maker!
Let all within me bless His name
Who maketh thee partaker
Of mercies more than thou dar'st claim.
Forget Him not whose meekness
Still bears with all thy sin,
Who healeth all thy weakness,
Renews thy life within;
Whose grace and care are endless
And saved thee through the past;
Who leaves no sufferer friendless,
But rights the wronged at last.

2. He shows to man His treasure
Of judgment, truth, and righteousness,
His love beyond all measure,
His yearning pity o'er distress,
Nor treats us as we merit,
But lays His anger by,
The humble, contrite spirit
Finds His compassion nigh;
And high as heaven above us,
As break from close of day,
So far, since He doth love us,
He puts our sins away.

3. For as a tender father
Hath pity on his children here,
He in His arms will gather
All who are His in childlike fear.
He knows how frail our powers
Who but from dust are made;
We flourish like the flowers,
And even so we fade;
The wind but o'er them passes,
And all their bloom is o'er,-
We wither like the grasses,
Our place knows us no more.

4. God's grace alone endureth,
And children's children yet shall prove
How He with strength assureth
The hearts of all that seek His love.
In heaven is fixed His dwelling,
His rule is over all;
Angels, in might excelling,
Bright hosts, before Him fall.
Praise Him, who ever reigneth

All ye who hear His Word,
Nor our poor hymns disdaineth-
My soul, oh, bless the Lord!