My husband's brother, Kenny was coming to visit. Each time he did, it seemed, something accidentally got broken. This visit, I did not want that something to be my new Emmaus crock! I took an extra step to attach the crock to the shelf with some double stick mounting tape. That way, if the shelf got bumped, the crock would not fall off and break. The days before Kenny's visit passed quickly, and in a flurry of last minute cleaning, the worst happened. I bumped the shelf, knocking the whole business (shelf plus glued-on crock) to the floor. I blew my stack as I looked at the now ruined crock, then cracked up at the irony of it all.
Later, after my husband and I had gone to bed, I heard a noise. Kenny came to our room needing help to find a dustpan and brush. He'd broken a glass potpourri burner in the powder room. my husband helped him as I rolled over, smiling. At least he hadn't broken my crock---I'd beaten him to it. And I never really liked that potpourri burner anyway. But I'd been thinking wrongly and unfairly---and definitely unlovingly of Kenny. Why did I always think so critically of him--- I had no right. We were both God's children. I needed to do better at being the Christian I claim to be. I needed to love more thoroughly.
The next day, I pulled my little shelf from the trash. It had a big section of the broken crock still glued fast. I hung it back up on the powder room wall, placed a small green plant in the broken crock. Both are still there today. Whenever I water the plant, I am reminded of the lesson I re-learned that day; I renew my resolve to live the faith I profess, and to keep trying to follow the example of Jesus, who taught us to love.
S. Y. for the St. Mark Presbyterian Lenten Devotional 2005
Sadly Kenny passed away in 2003.
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