When we learn that our toy is broken

My kids break their toys all the time. I’m always tempted to fix it for them or throw it out and buy new ones. I’m not made of money and sick of forking out money for toys. They’ll have to play with their broken ones. After a while they seem to forget that the toys are broken and love to play with them anyway.

Many times I’ve prayed to God to fix my toy. It’s broken and not working quite right. It’s not pretty enough or smart enough. Quite frankly, I dropped it in muddy water and it stopped playing that annoying music. Here God, take it away. It’s a bad toy and give me a new one.

So many times I’ve asked God to fix my heart and give me a newer, cleaner one. He’s usually pretty silent. I think He ignores me on purpose. Why? Because it’s good for me.

I got tired of asking and learned to play with what is broken. It’s my favorite toy and I learned to love it. I now can go to my Father and thank him for giving me such a great toy. Because I love it, I don’t see the broken parts (only when I stare at it for too long). It’s the perfect toy for me.

My friends have different toys that are special to them. When we see each other, our unique toys make for great imaginary play. I love my toy. I love your toy. Let’s play with our broken toys together.

Image: Mary Cassatt. Children Playing on the Beach. Private Collection