Chapter six in John’s story about the life of Jesus tells us how he fed 5,000 people with 5 loaves and 2 small fishes.

I have no problem reconciling God and science, so the miracle bit doesn’t stumble me in the least. The thing that fascinates me – the piece I woke up thinking about – is what Jesus said when the meal was over. “Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.”

Consider. This was a person of unlimited resources, a man who could create abundance from nothingness, yet he said to his followers, “Gather up the fragments.”

Have you ever stopped to “gather up the fragments” of your life?

We find ourselves at Thanksgiving and Christmas confronted with life-fragments we’ve been trying hard to forget. Encounters with uncomfortable relatives bring sharp fragments to the surface. Memories of past failures and embarrassments, hard times and weird relationships emerge from conversations with people who remember us differently than we are today. And then we have to visit places we’ve been trying to forget and recall events from which we’re still recovering.

Am I the only person who goes into the holiday season with mixed emotions?

“Gather up the fragments.”

Unresolved fragments are shrapnel, cutting us deeply.

Handled fragments are sandpaper, wearing off our rough edges.

Softened fragments are building blocks, giving us insights to get things done.

Celebrated fragments are nutrition, remembering past miracles in our lives.

Bright mosaics are made from gathered fragments.

Broken. Colorful. Unique.

Just like the pattern of your life.

Negotiate your broken places.

They allow for new connections.

Appreciate the weirdness of your past.

It adds color to your future.

Celebrate your personal heritage.

It beats the hell out of whining.

Happy Holidays.

Roy H. Williams