Fix-it Nation

Varlaam Monastery
Photo by Tom Dempsey








June 6, 2007

Fix-it Nation

A man was walking down the street when he came across a body lying on the sidewalk. He grabbed his cell phone and called 911.

The operator asked him where he was and the man replied,
"I'm on Sycamore Drive."

"How do you spell that?" the operator asked.

"S-i-c-k..." the man began. "No, s-i-c-a...no, s-i-k-a..
Oh forget it, let me drag him over to Lake street and I'll call you back."

We are a fix-it nation. Not everything we fix is a wise choice.

A pastor at the Helen Street Church of Christ in Fayetteville, North Carolina tells a story about a monastery in Greece perched high on a cliff, several hundred feet in the air. The only way to reach the monastery is to be suspended in a basket which is pulled to the top by several monks who pull and tug with all their strength. The ride up the steep cliff is rather nerve wracking. Ok it’s downright terrifying.

One tourist got exceedingly nervous about half-way up as he noticed that the rope by which he was suspended was old and frayed. With a trembling voice he asked the monk who was riding with him in the basket how often they changed the rope.

The monk thought for a moment and answered serenely: "Whenever it breaks.

"Oh my word! I come from a fix-it nation - we fix things that are wearing out. We don’t wait till they break. I hate it when people spill out of the basket.

When you think about it…… God operates in our lives in a similar way to how the monks deal with their rope. If we were to ask God when He will change our lives, His answer might well be, "Whenever you break!

"You see, our lives can only change once we have what the Bible refers to as a "broken spirit". As long as we remain arrogant and determined to do things our way, God can't shape us and mold us.

Have you ever watched wild horses running free? They are beautiful …… but useless. Like a wild stallion, we remain useless until we are "broken".

A pearl to string: "The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit." (Psalm 34:18)

Father God, I so often want to stubbornly do things my way. Help me as I strive to have a broken spirit, recognizing my shortcomings, humbly willing to listen to Your instruction. In Jesus' name, amen.

Letting go of the end of my rope and breaking in His love,
Lyndi