Today Ethan's marble jar (okay, it's not really a jar - it's a plastic Chinese food container that my Sweet & Sour sauce comes in from our FAVORITE Chinese restaurant in Pittsburgh) cracked and broke. 200+ marbles will do that to a plastic container.
I simply dumped his marbles into something else and tossed the container in the trash.
You think I would know better by now. Or should I say, you would think I would know my child better by now. He saw me toss that and well, his little world came to an end. He began to cry and get very upset.
"What's wrong Ethan? It's broken honey. We can't keep it." I said to him.
"But I want it!" came is teary reply.
"Why? All of your marbles will fall out. You could cut yourself. There is pieces sticking out that are sharp!"
"But I want it?"
"Why?" I tried again.
"Because I love it mommy!" he said sincerely.
"What are you going to do with it?" I heard my "giving in" self say.
"Put it up high on my shelf where it can't cut me, but I can look at it."
"Okay buddy. Let me get it out and wash it for you. We will put it up on your shelf."
You know I couldn't help but think. Aren't we like that broken plastic container that should have be thrown away? Not looked upon with love and patience?
We are broken.
In our broken bodies we hold onto things that weigh heavy on our hearts and cause our brokenness to be more severe. With our broken bodies we can hurt people, unintentionally. In these broken bodies we can be in pain. In these bodies we are weak.
However, God loves our broken bodies. He doesn't want to just toss us and give up on us. He wants to love us. He wants to look at us and be proud that we are His creation.
It's not easy to live in these broken bodies. Sometimes you just want to give up. Sometimes, like the marbles pressing on the plastic, there is so much pressure on these bodies - kids, marriage, jobs, homes, bills, family, friends, stress, unhappiness, guilt, sin, shame, etc. - just pushing and pushing to the point where we feel we are going to explode! Isn't it nice to know even with ALL of this and sometimes MORE so because of ALL of this...we are loved...UNCONDITIONALLY for who we are.
Wow, this is a great thing to read this morning. You're so right. We are like the broken container. We are taught not to love ourselves unless we have "everything just right" But God loves us regardless- and we really never will get everything "just right, which makes his love such a blessing. Thanks for this reminder!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Jen. It is so good to remember that I am so loved in whatever state I come.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder, as I'm feeling a bit "broken" today.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jen. It's not fun to be broken, but I've experienced how that is when God really meets us! As Jim Cymbala has said, "God is attracted to weakness." II Cor. 4 is one of my fave chapters of the Bible and it describes us as being "jars of clay" - very breakable!! That's how God's power is seen because we know anything good is not because of us, but because of Him!! We need to remind one another of this truth when we are not feeling too well put together!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great writer, and what a great message
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