Broken

My son Brady (4) brings me his favorite toy ...

Broken!

This toy has seen a lot of action, but is now action-less. "Daddy, can you fix it please?" How can I deny that! Especially since the fix is so easy - at least for me.

Brady has already tried everything he knew to fix the toy. But at his level of fix-it, nothing worked. Now compared to his level of fix-it, I'm a fix-it SUPER HERO! So when the lifeless toy is brought to me, I know exactly what needs to be done. You don't get to fix-it SUPER HERO status by merely changing batteries. A few twists of the pliers and this toy will be back in action.

"Daddy, can you fix it please?"

"I can, " I reply. "I just need to get a tool."

Brady smiles wide and ... runs off. Not what I expected, but ok. He returns with the "tools" he thinks I'll need. He wants to help fix what he broke. He hands me a crayon, a pair of tweezers, and a Darth Vader light saber. Now at Brady's level of fix-it, this stuff will fix anything. But this broken toy requires more.

"No Brady, " I speak softly, "A pair of pliers will do nicely." He watches in amazement as, with each magical turn of my wrist (and pliers), the toy is fixed. "Wow daddy, you fixed it." Was there any doubt? Not on his part.

Our lives are broken. Heartaches cripple. Tempers flare. Temptations prevail. Something happens that shakes the bolts loose and we break. All attempts at repairing ourselves are childsplay. The solution is above our level of fix-it.

When it comes to humanity, God is the fix-it SUPER HERO. He knows exactly what needs to be done. And He's got an AWESOME set of tools! A few turns of His Unconditional Love will heal a wounded heart. A few splashes of His Peace will extinguish a temper flare-up. A lose sin can be tightened with His Grace.

We get to a point in our lives when we realize that we can't fix what is broken. We try, but we can't. And out of frustration, we grab our crude tools (crayons, tweezers, and light sabers), take our brokenness to the LORD and say, "Daddy, can you fix it please?"

His reply, "I can."