Broken Things
While dusting a decorative plate the other day I was reminded of something that took place several years ago. We crossed paths with a family in a most unusual way. There were six of them – a father and mother and their two children, and an aunt and uncle to the children. They were traveling west on their way home from a vacation and the uncle of this family had hurt his back so they were at one of our local hospitals. It was determined that he needed to be admitted for treatment and possible surgery.
As the case often is when traveling home, they didn’t have enough money for the other members of the family to rent a motel room.
To make a long story short, as members of the church, they reached out to our congregation for help. At that time, Jim and I were living in a large home with plenty of space, so we invited them to stay with us.
Jim was still serving as the minister of the congregation (which was just across the street from our house) and I was working as the secretary there, so we would go to work and they would go back and forth from the house to the hospital.
One morning the bell rang at the office entrance and it was the father and his little girl. He asked if they could come in and talk to me about something that had happened at the house. He said that the children were playing and running in the house and they had bumped into a piece of furniture and knocked over a painted plate and it had broken.
Now, that plate was precious to me because my aunt (a talented artist) had painted a picture of my grandparents’ house on it. I had had it for years and I loved it.
However, that little girl, with tears streaming down her face and saying she was sorry, was more important than that plate. I explained to her why I loved that memory plate, and then I told her that she was more important than a plate.
I tell you that story because it reminded me that all kinds of things that are more important than a treasured plate can be broken and not repaired.
- Hearts can be broken. Sometimes it’s careless words or actions that cause the break, but it is difficult to mend a broken heart.
- Marriages can be broken. Those vows that were taken before God can be tossed aside and trampled on and a sacred oath can be so broken that it can’t be repaired.
- Families can be broken. I often wonder how many families live together in a house but don’t really have a home. They don’t communicate and enjoy life together.
- Promises can be broken. When we confide in someone we trust, and that person breaks their promise to keep our thoughts private, a promise is broken, and trust is damaged sometimes beyond repair.
There is only One who never lies or breaks His promises to us. That One is our heavenly Father. Titus 1:2 says, “in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began.”
My precious plate was nothing more than pieces of broken clay. But did you notice that I said I was dusting a decorative plate? Our daughter had a plate just like mine because she had the one my aunt had painted for my mother. They were almost identical. When Amber found out about my plate being broken, she gave me hers. What a wonderful gift!
Plates are not that important, and sometimes they can be replaced.
Some things are so much more important than material things – things like hearts, marriages, families, and promises – and when these are broken, it is difficult to put them back together. Only God can help us mend these broken things. Sadly, people often fail or refuse to ask for His help or follow His instructions.
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AUTHOR: Donna Faughn
