Broken for a new purpose.

"What was that?!?", she screamed from the living room. "Was that the special mug I bought for Daddy?!?" ... pause, and then a river of tears, and then uncontrollable sobs from our 6 year old daughter poured forth.

I had just walked into the other room when I heard the crash, I know something had fallen in the kitchen, and had certainly broken into a million pieces, as my bride was putting dishes away. Before I could arrive at the seen, I was made aware by a little heart broken voice of what just happened.

Two weeks earlier, our 6 year old daughter, Vera, went to school filled with anticipation and a $20 bill in her hand. Her heart full of joy and the excitement of going to her first "Santa shop" at school to buy presents for her Mommy, her Daddy (as I write in third person), and her little brother. She came home that day even more so excited with three carefully wrapped bags and said, "Now don't look! I am going to place these under the tree, and Daddy, here is your change!" Tears of joy came to me at the sound of these words, she was so happy, and responsible with what we had given her!

I sat in the other room, pondering how I was going to try and heal her heart, and somehow replace what was now broken. After all, we could just go buy a new mug? Secretly this idea appealed to me, as I am not much of a batman or comic guy, and the mug she so proudly gave me (pictured above) was not necessarily my style, but it was from her heart, and i'll never forget her words and her smile when I opened it. "It has a batman on it and says Dad, because you are my super Daddy" ... Heart. Melt.

So as I held back the words to say, "We will just go buy a new one.", I surveyed the scene, and then without effectively even seeing if it was possible, said, "Vera you like puzzles! How would you like to help Daddy put the mug back together?" The sobbing came to a halt, and slowly a grin from cheek to cheek appeared, and she responded "That's a great idea, I will get the tape!" and to the drawer she ran! I, however, staring at the floor and quickly seeing the the largest piece remaining to work with was that of a silver dollar, had not just realized what I may have over promised. But there we sat, piece by piece, mending, smiling, laughing, restoring... what once was lost, now mended and whole.

You can still see the cracks, the tape, and even a few chips, that were beyond repair. The mug, once used to sip coffee from, (who am I kidding, guzzle coffee from, for those of you that know me), could no longer be used for its basic function. It no longer has a place in the cabinet with the other mugs, mixed in and hidden unless selected for use. It has now been set apart by itself. Instead, it has now become so much more. What once may have been packed away as the years go by, or even donated (by accident of course), now has a permanent place on my desk and in my heart. I may have spent years drinking (sorry, guzzling) coffee from it, and not once remembered any of those moments, no matter how many hundreds of times I may have used it. But this is for certain, I will never forget the hour Vera and I spent putting it so very carefully back together, Piece by piece, we created something much more than a memento, we created a moment, and one I shall never forget.

We each are created for a purpose, and for many, they go through life just serving their basic design, blending in with the others, a life lived filled with moments just as fleeting, as the sips from an ordinary coffee mug. There are moments in life when the unexpected happens, and sometimes, those unexpected events shatter us ... How do we respond?

I could have simply said, "Let's buy a new mug", swept up all of the broken pieces, threw them in the trash, and moved on. I could have been so focused on the "important' stuff going on in our busy day, and not taken the time to think about my daughter's heart, and how to respond in this unexpected moment. What a tragedy that would have been, for I would have lost so much more than just a mug, had I done so.

So, how do we respond when the unexpected happens? What would we miss out on, if we just try to pass those moments by, cover up the pain, and move on?

What were you created for? Are you going through life living out the basic functions of a human being? Blending in? Just another cup in the cubbard?

Or perhaps ... perhaps you are made to be broken. Maybe even into a million pieces, only to be restored, piece by piece, into someone capable of so much more. Maybe your life, instead of fleeting sips, could be comprised of unforgettable hours to tell of for years to come.

This mug is my life story. Broken. Shattered.

But the story didn't end there. Much like the mug, my life has been transformed to serve a different purpose, one so much more worthy of telling than of what I "expected" it to be. In a moment I will let the lyrics of a deeply meaningful song to me explain.

If you have been broken, if you have been shattered, I pray that this story brings you hope, healing, and restoration. Maybe your life has been rather uneventful, even to some degree painless, but something seems to be missing. Maybe that something is everything you were "made" to be and more. The question is, are you willing to be broken? ... And piece by piece, mended, to become everything you were "meant" to be.

(Broken Vessels - Hillsong)

"All these pieces, broken and scattered, in mercy gathered, mended, and whole.

Empty handed, but not forsaken, I've been set free, I've been set free.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost ,but now I'm found, was blind, but now I see.

Oh I can see You now, oh I can see the love in Your eyes.

Laying Yourself down, raising up the broken to life.

You take our failure, you take our weakness, you set Your treasure, in jars of clay.

So take this heart Lord, I'll be your vessel, the world to see, Your life in me."