The Shattered Glass

he had only been at his friends house for a few minutes when he accidentally bumped the the antique glass pitcher and watched it shatter on the floor* devastated the teenager fell to the floor reaching for the pieces as if he could somehow save the valuable heirloom* to late - what was once one of the most treasured belongings his friend's mother owned had become no more than a pile of glass* shattered* destroyed*it was her favorite piece that had been passed down from generations of women starting with her great, great grandmother* now it was nothing but pieces of glass scattered on the floor* after breaking the antique pitcher and staring at the shattered pieces on the floor the boy burst into tears* all he could ask himself is how could this happen* he left that day feeling shame and guilt inside as if his world had ended*

as a man i look back on my childhood* the years in middle school where i was picked on and bullied* many days i came home to an empty house and i would quickly escape to my room and think about ending my life* with self esteem shattered* with confidence in myself shattered* with hope shattered* with a sense of self worth and value shattered* the pieces were scattered and i could not see with my own eyes how they could ever be whole again*

miranda was only seventeen years old* how could it be that at such an early age* an innocent age* that a boy could break her heart* what went wrong* how did it all happen* she could only make sense of some of the details of their breakup since it happened so fast* she felt so used* she felt so dirty* shattered was her dreams of marrying this boy* torn to pieces was her self esteem* broken was her heart which was one so trusting and vulnerable* she looked in the mirror that night and stared into the eyes of a confused and lost woman where once a young innocent girl once looked*

the boy who had broken the antique pitcher returned to his friends house the next day* he had tossed and turned all night with the pain and humiliation of something so dreadful happening to him* now he had to face his friends mom and see the hurt in her eyes* he knocked and entered their house feeling for once like an intruder* like he did not belong* he met his friends mother in the kitchen with his eyes on the floor* tears falling* ashamed of life* she gently lifted his eyes to meet hers and wrapped her arms around him holding him close as she spoke these words ever so softly* i heard what happened to you yesterday* i am sorry that it upset you so badly* can i show you something i made* then she led him into the living room and pulled out a small mosaic filled with all the pieces of glass from the broken picture* you see* although the pitcher was broken and it could never return to its original form* the shattered pieces can be used to make something even more beautiful and valuable that ever before*

the broken pieces of the pitcher became a beautiful mosaic and was restored to a beauty beyond that of what it was before* likewise i became a stronger man more compassionate for those less fortunate than i because i knew what it was to be less fortunate* and the young girl who had her heart shattered can know what true love is because she has experienced the hurt and pain of a shattered relationship*

there is a reflection of hope in the shattered glass that only a trained eye can see* eyes tested by time* focused in faith* persuaded by purpose* may your shattered pieces be restored once again*