Lessons From a Lawn Chair

This is not a lesson I learned while sitting in a lawn chair. That would have been nice. No, this lesson actually came from the lawn chair. Of course, now it sounds like my lawn chair pulled itself up to a podium and proceeded to educate me on something. That would have been cool, but it didn't happen that way. Why don't I just share the lesson with you?

At one time I had a really great lawn chair. My mom had given it to us and it really was a wonderful chair. Until it's fabric ripped.

I loved the chair so much that I kept it around even after it had been torn. Little by little, the tear worsened and soon it was obvious that one of two things needed to be done. Repair it or replace it.

Not being one to make quick decisions, I chose a third option. I put it in the basement until I could decide.

It was out of sight, out of mind most of the time. But because I had to walk past it when I did laundry, I did occasionally put some thought into the fate of the chair. I didn't know how to fix it but I didn't want to throw away something that could be fixed. I also knew that if I replaced it I would want the same kind of chair. I didn't want something different.

The thought crossed my mind that it could be professionally repaired. This thought was quickly followed by the thought that whatever that may cost would surely be more than the cost of buying a new one.

I soon decided that I wasn't going to spend any money on a lawn chair so I might as well take a shot at fixing it myself. I had nothing to lose. So, I grabbed my trusty roll of duct tape and...it didn't work. But I tried and then didn't feel so bad taking the chair out to the curb on garbage day.

It got me thinking about life in general and the question of what is and isn't worth repairing. The things that are cheaply made are never worth the cost of repairs, while things of quality craftsmanship are worth saving.

Then I considered me.

I was crafted with the highest quality of craftsmanship, God Himself. I was not cheaply made and my Creator did not make a mistake. I am definitely broken but He doesn't want to toss me away. He chose to repair what He created, even though the cost was His only Son's blood. I was worth the cost because I am His handiwork. The thought is quite humbling.

I believe the lesson holds true of my marriage as well. My marriage was quite broken. By the world's perspective, it was probably broken beyond repair. But I believe that a union that God created, even when we've made a mess of it, is something worth the cost of repairs. Whatever the cost may be.

And God taught me all of this from a lawn chair.

Well, not really. It's actually all in His Word...

Psalm 139:13-14 - "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

Romans 3:23 - "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"

Romans 5:9-11 - "Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."

Matt. 19:6 - "So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

There's more, of course. You should really read it.