Shattered Pieces
Yesterday, I pulled out some boxes out of my storage unit. Specifically looking for kitchen boxes. Then I found Kitchen Box #15, which I've been scared to open since putting all my things in a storage unit. Unfortunately, as we were unloading the Penske moving truck, this box fell from the back of the truck and landed on the cement. If you've ever used a Penske truck, you know that's about a 4' drop. When my cousin picked up the box, he said it rattled. I looked in my little blue journal, where I had labeled and cataloged what every box had in it. My heart sank when I read "Coffee Mugs." Yes, very breakable. Coffee mugs are not all that valuable, but many are sentimental. You see, I have a collection of random mugs. Whenever I travel, I love to collect coffee mugs from where I've spent some time or some place of significance in my life.
As I opened the box yesterday and carefully unwrapped each mug, there were quite a few broken ones. Several survived the fall and were unscathed, and I was thankful. One broken mug brought tears to my eyes, and I couldn't bring myself to throw it away. It was a coffee mug given to Todd when we left the pastorate in Kenmare. The mug says, "A PASTOR is one who speaks to your spirit, listens to your heart, and understands what words can never say." The whole time I pastored in Kenmare, I used that mug to remind myself of the incredible calling I had again in Kenmare to love on the people and speak life into their lives. So, seeing the mug shattered was just so heartbreaking. It represented ten years of my life, pastoring in Kenmare, and now it was shattered. So this morning, I slowly and meticulously super-glued it back together. It will never be able to hold a drink again, but I can still look at it and use it to hold useful things on my desk. It took me nearly an hour to figure out where each piece fit back together. It was one small piece at a time till the puzzle was slowly reassembled. A few chips are missing, and it will never look new or be what it was originally designed for, but now it will be repurposed and still cherished. Though the other 5 or 6 mugs that were broken ended up in the trash can, this one still will 'live' on, though totally different now.
This mug seems to parallel my life—shattered but put back together with God's SUPERnatural Glue and redesigned for another purpose. That's what God does best: bring us into newness of life and hope to a life shattered by the 'falls' of life. That's why His grace is so amazing, and it's always 'unfolding' in my life.
"So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without His unfolding grace."
2 Corinthians 4:16 MSG