Learning to Live With the Broken

Life is about learning to live with the Broken.

What would your life look like if nothing were broken?

Another perfect day, another perfectly clean house with everything working, all your children behaving and thriving while you are surrounded by loving friends and families.

Does anyone have that?

To paraphrase a quote, it says,

All seamen showed master seamanship in calm waters. It is during the storms of life, that your skill is needed.

A dead tree in my abundantly shaded yard gives way for a plot for a sunny garden. I buy six perennial flowers, surely not too ambitious a plan to accomplish amidst a busy 15 month old toddler and four year old.

Two hours later, every plastic toy I own is in my front yard. One plant has made it into the ground, and both children in their attempts to ‘help me’ have reduced the once healthy looking plant to one straggly survivor.

The majority of my time has been spent running after my gleeful toddler as she teeters into the street in complete disregard of my instructions. Or balancing the needs of my four year old, ‘can we, can we, can we … why not????’

Do I take this day and look at my failure to plant a mere six flowers?

Or do I take this day and look at my success?

Abundant sunshine, the giggles as my toddler jerkily runs then stops then falls, then back up laughing again. The trust that she has that all her needs are met, that her biggest hardship today will be wrestling the rubber ducky tied on a string from her older sister.

There is a rosebush outside my living room window. It was a gift that outlived its beauty and then sat on the patio in a forlorn plastic green container.

On much the same type of day as today, I threw it into the earth and patted it down. 

And it grew.

And grew.

From the living room couch, it now provides a beautiful red rose and green frame of our backyard.

Perhaps the purple speedwell flower will do the same giving me a reminder of the sturdy, steadfast ability of the broken in life to renew.