Cherishing Broken Treasures – How Ceramics are Similar to our Hearts!

My son Nehemiah had to have the ‘coolest’ basketball bowl last Christmas. He was so excited when he actually received it. As he opened it, the look on his face was like ‘what?’ “But mom, that was expensive.” It was a little more than I might have normally spent for a bowl, but it was something special and unique to him. I can’t tell you the countless times he would use the bowl. He took extra special care of it. My son realized the value, and he felt sentimental (as well as grateful).

One day not long ago I was doing dishes. I didn’t realize that the bowl was in the dishpan. I accidently broke the basket on it. My heart sank for a moment. BUT, ‘it’s just a bowl’ you might think. I knew how much this little simple thing meant to him. Now what? He asked me to get Gorilla glue. I did. We tried countless times to hold it together with no success.

How often do we put ourselves into situations where we don’t realize how they might ‘break’ us a little if we aren’t careful? How often we might realize that the things which are most precious to us might be the simplest or most delicate. I recently asked him if he just wanted to get rid of it. His response was “Mom, I think we should still try to fix it. There has to be something that will hold it together.” So the bowl sits still on the kitchen counter waiting for it’s possible fix. It means too much to him to get rid of it. He doesn’t want to replace it with another one either. That broken bowl is still something he cherishes, broken pieces or not.

There is so much deep meaning in this experience with this little basketball bowl! Something broken can still be cherished. Sometimes it’s the reason why we received it. In this case it was because Nehemiah plays basketball and loves the sport. Sometimes it is the person who gave it to us (in this case he received from his mom and stepdad), or maybe it belonged to someone that is special or no longer with us.

Most of us have a special trinket or item that holds value to us – within our heart. A special necklace that was grandma’s, or a baseball cap that was dad’s, porcelain doll that belonged to aunt Sue, or the list could go on. We usually keep these things in a special place. We look at them or hold them with our reflection of something inside of us that we treasure because of someone dear (or a special memory).

Our hearts are a home for our treasures. They don’t live on a shelf, in a cupboard, or cardboard box. It is the place existing inside of us that keeps our treasures of people, places, and memories of what we hold dear. It’s important to keep our hearts strong. Don’t allow things to affect it that could cause damage if it’s possible to do that in any way. How we do this can be different for each one of us, but it starts with taking things in stride. Take your time to enjoy the life you have and the blessing of the people you love. Don’t settle for less than you have to. Keep your focus on what is important. Strive for balance. Cherish your treasures!