Broken

On the list of things to do today was trying to make the backyard more orderly.  An old picnic table on which I had potted plants sat haphazardly on one side, and the coordinating benches were stacked next to each other across the yard.  Here and there were reminders of the yard work I'd been doing, but never completely finished.  The lawnmower was sitting out.  Yes, today was the day.

It seemed like the easiest thing to tackle was rolling the lawnmower back into the garage.  Angling through the walk in door I discovered the car was parked too far forward and space was limited.  Several chairs being stored were shuffled until what I thought was a clear path formed.  Just a few tweaks and it would be through.  Then it happened.  CRASH!!  SMASH!!  SHATTER!!

Our son recycles pop cans and removes the opener tabs before crushing them.  A glass jar which once held spaghetti sauce had been recycled into a container for the tabs.  Said glass jar was now on the cement floor in a million pieces.  My mission to organize the backyard had instantly turned down a new path.

Picking up the largest chunks of glass, I then sought out a new container for the tabs, finding one which would not be as susceptible to breakage.  Carefully I picked out the tabs from the splinters of glass, finishing with a good sweeping.  As I worked, I grumbled.  "Okay, God, just why did THAT have to happen?  I was finally feeling ambitious, and now my precious time is being wasted cleaning up a mess!"

In the quiet of my inner spirit, I gently heard the Holy Spirit communicating God's reply.  "Now you know what I feel like, My child.  At one time I created a perfect world and everything was in order.  It didn't seem too much to require one small rule, and My newly created children chose to disobey.  In an instant, just like your jar, my world became broken.  Slowly and patiently over the years, I have been attempting to restore order to this world, but sadly, once broken it can never be put back together in the same way."

Humbling.  I had never quite thought of it in this light before.  But suddenly it made sense.  As I completed my task and placed the tabs in the new plastic container, I received another message.  "Yes, My child, someday there will be a new world for you, too.  It will be a world free of the risk of being broken.  We aren't there yet, but it is coming.  Have patience, My child.  I love you and will see you through until such day arrives.  Until then, just trust I'm working on it!"