The broken egg

By Faith Family
This article, written from a first person perspective, was shared in an old edition of the "Faith Family" publication.

Posted in Family

Our Easter decorations box was open on the lounge room floor. I'd left the kids to decorate the room. From the kitchen I could hear them moving and talking and giggling. Then there was silence! A nervous voice reported - "Oscar broke the egg."

With annoyance I moved to the lounge to find my treasured memento in pieces. This wasn’t just any off-the-shelf, multi-packed plastic egg; this was a hand-decorated egg, a gift from a very special friend.

Niki had escaped the traumas of a country torn apart by war. Australia was now her home. She had been betrayed more than once by so-called friends and government officials. Yet in the midst of all of this, she held fast to her faith in God.

One day my friend taught me a lesson I have never forgotten.

On Niki’s desk there had always been a photo of a group of friends from her days in her home land. A yellow post-it note covered one face. Today there was no yellow tag. Curious, I asked where it was.

With a smile I had not seen before, Niki replied, "I can now look at this man, because I have forgiven him." 

I inquired further, and she explained: "Last night I was looking at Ecclesiastes 3 in the Bible. One verse - 'a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war and a time of peace' - spoke to me. Now is a time for love and peace; a time to forgive this man who betrayed me to the Government."

The story continued, and for me the lesson of forgiveness was real and unforgettable.

Real, too, was the broken egg on my lounge room floor. My children didn’t understand my tears, but that precious egg could never be repaired or replaced.

What would I do about it? Would I let a damaged egg damage my relationship with my kids? Was I prepared to honour the memory of my forgiving friend? Could I forgive my children?

As we come into the season of Easter, we are confronted by an even greater act of forgiveness - God’s healing of a broken world and the broken people in it. God did this not with an easy application of superglue, but with his unconditional love and through the death and return to life of God’s own Son, Jesus. 

Mended by God’s forgiveness, Niki could forgive an old enemy.

I can forgive my children.

All of us can forgive one another.


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