In the Temple when Simeon held the Christ Child eight days after his birth, he gave this prophecy to Mary and Joseph:

“Sovereign Lord…I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people.  He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!” (Luke 2:30-32)

As the Christmas season neared, the gift shop in the hospital where I worked at the time displayed three lovely little porcelain angels. These were unlike most Christmas angels. Each, about 6 inches high were dressed in a bulky coat and cap. One held a loaf of bread, one a Christmas tree, and the third held a lighted candle. They captured my heart, but were considerably outside my pocket book. Each day I would go by the gift shop and look in at these angels always fearful that someone would have purchased them. Then about a week before Christmas, the gift shop had a 50% off sale on all Christmas items. I hurried into the shop and to my joy what I had become to think of as my angels were still there and I bought them.  I knew exactly where I would display them.

That evening when I got home I had several things to carry in—including my precious angels. As I placed the items on my kitchen counter, the package holding the angels slipped from my hand and hit our tile floor with a shattering sound.  All were broken.  I felt heartbroken as well. I gathered all the pieces, sorted them and over the next few days did my best to glue them together. When I was done I looked at these poor broken angels and loved them even more.

Since that incident over thirty plus years ago, I have left my three broken Christmas angels on display year round as a reminder that it is through our broken places that the love of Christ can most easily shine in.  Over time I have also discovered that it is through our broken places—those places that Christ has lovingly mended—that we can most often become angels for others who are broken.

This was reinforced most recently when I saw a verse written by Leonard Cohen, a Canadian song writer, singer, and poet. He said, “There is a crack in everything, and that is where the light comes in.”

Where we are cracked, the light of Christ shines in. And where we are cracked the light and the love of Christ can shine back out to all we meet.

Dear God, help me to always be grateful for the cracks that have occurred in my life. Help me to accept your loving hand in mending me, and help me have the courage to shine your light back out through my cracks to others. In the loving name of Jesus the Christ, Amen

This devotional was written and read by Barbara Sadler.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.