Summer of Broken Objects

Yesterday was one of those days that I suspect everyone has occasionally. My spouse seemed to break everything he touched. We ended the day with a computer that still doesn't work and a broken lamp.

We've had a summer of broken objects. Our lawnmower inexplicably stopped working last month. Our computer hasn't been right since mid-July. My spouse somehow missed the first lesson of boat existence, and put toilet paper in the head of my sister and brother-in-law's sailboat--broken head! I can no longer keep track of how many wineglasses we've broken.

It's frustrating dealing with broken objects, but I prefer dealing with broken objects to dealing with other forms of brokenness. Objects can be replaced. Broken health often cannot. People can break in all sorts of ways, and I'm glad we're not dealing with that. All of our loved ones this summer seem to be in good health with no deaths on the horizon. So far, our house seems to be in good shape. Our jobs don't seem to be in danger of breaking.

Of course, life teaches us that any of these situations can change in a heartbeat. So, any time I feel a flash of irritation with all the broken objects, I remind myself of my blessings. My health is good. The health of my loved ones is good. So far, a quiet hurricane season. My finances are secure enough that I can share with others. I have a job that I like, and I work with great humans.

We live in a state of brokenness, or pending brokenness. But the Good News is that God can reassemble all of creation into something even better.