Sometimes Things Fall Apart and They Have to be Stapled Back Together

Sometimes things fall apart, and you have to staple them back together

As a tutor for elementary school kids, I get a lot of questions. And while I oftentimes can't answer them, I love them because they make me think.

At work this week, one of my students asked me why I had a stapler on the desk (the curriculum packets we use ALWAYS rip apart at the seams, so I've resolved to keep a purple mini stapler on the desk so I don't have to keep getting up and running across the room every 10 seconds, praying my kid doesn't tear the room apart while I'm gone). Without really thinking, I answered "Sometimes, things fall apart, and you have to staple them back together." My student accepted this and then we sat in silence again as she got back to her "plus fours."

It's not just paper that falls apart and has to be stapled. Life falls apart. In less than 24 hours, there have been two deaths in our extended family/friends who are basically considered family.

Life falls apart at the seams very quickly.

My life has become so different recently and I often assume now that Jesus has healed my heart,  I can live the life I've always dreamed of living. Yet I'm still so oftentimes disappointed in the outcomes of my reactions, realizing that while things have drastically improved, there is still more healing and more work to be done in my heart.

Life falls apart so quickly.

Tragedy. Stress. Those days when nothing seems to go right. Facing your demons. Things often do fall apart, and you need Jesus to staple them back together.

Something Christine Caine always says has been on my mind a lot recently. The pain of recovery hurts a lot more than the pain of the injury. Falling apart hurts. That first phone call with bad news that you receive, hurts. Listening to shame, hurts. But when reality sets in and you realize how much damage has been done to your heart; You realize just how much healing has to be done...that hurts a whole lot more.

Luckily, we have Jesus as the One who gets to "staple" our hearts and our lives back together again. And as the recovery process is painful, our Savior knows the gentlest way possible. He sees things we don't see. He is the God of all Comfort.

I'm praying for you this week, friends, as you face the pain of recovery. Whether it's being healed from your past, being healed from loss (of person, of job, of relationship), whatever it may be, I pray that you may embrace the pain of recovery and lean into Jesus. Because yes, while things often do fall apart, Jesus is the best "stapler."