Quick Fix

For the most part, I consider myself to be intelligent. I also am a person who can fix things.  

In my house, when something is broken, I don't just ignore it--I fix it.  When you put these two awesome gifts together you have a winning combination, but when you remove the intelligent part from the equation, disaster looms.  That's what happened in the following story about a quick fix I did.

Early in my marriage, I broke a coffee cup.  I could've thrown it away but because--I'm an amazing fixer, I attempted to repair what was broken.  And I used Elmers glue to do it.   When I was finished with the repair, the cup looked flawless, and I proudly returned that 'good-as-new' cup to the cupboard and never gave it another thought.

Until one day, my husband poured himself a cup of hot coffee.  He carried the cup to the table and sat it down.  We talked for a few minutes then he lifted the cup to his mouth. The coffee cup fell apart in the air sending coffee in every direction.  With an expression of shock on his face, he still held the handle of the cup in his hand.  It was priceless. 

I immediately knew what happened, and I couldn't contain my laughter.  l did not plan the incident to play out as it did.  That was pure luck on my part.  It could have just as easily been me who chose that cup, but my husband was pretty sure I had strategically plotted against him for that very rewarding moment.  Yes.  I'm laughing as I write this--I'm so bad!

After his initial shock, I explained what happened.  He shook his head in disbelief and said, "You don't use water dissolvable glue to fix something that holds hot liquid." 

Still laughing!

There is a spiritual truth to glean from this funny little story.

We all know what it is to be broken. Sin does that to us. And in our brokenness we have two options. We can either try to quick fix the problems ourselves with something that was never meant to hold together the broken pieces of our lives.  Or we can allow the blood of Jesus to wash over us and restore us to wholeness. 

Jeremiah 17:14 in the Message Bible says this...

God, pick up the pieces.

    Put me back together again.

    You are my praise!

This world has plenty of quick fixes to offer broken people, but God is the only tried and true adhesive that can holds us together and make us useful again.