Mending Broken Lives - Homeword - August 4

Mending Broken Lives

This devotional was written by Jim Burns

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. —James 1:17

He had only one eye and his arm was dangling by a thread. But four-year-old Hannah loved Bear. Bear always accompanied her to Sunday School. One day, her teacher suggested the class pray for people who were sick and hurting. The children prayed for hungry children around the world, sick relatives and broken relationships. Hannah put her arms around poor, tattered Bear. She prayed, "Dear Jesus, please make Bear better."

Then Hannah had such a good time at church, she forgot Bear and left without him. One of Hannah's teachers, who heard her prayer took Bear home to "heal" him. She replaced both eyes with pretty new buttons and sewed the arm back on. When she gave Bear back to Hannah on the next Sunday, Hannah was filled with joy. "God fixed Bear," she said.

What Hannah would later understand about God, is that sometimes He heals directly; other times he uses people like her Sunday School teacher to sew our bears together and help mend the broken parts of our lives.

GOING DEEPER:

1. When has God used someone in your life to help you with a burden?

2. What characteristic of God do you see in James 1:17 and Matthew 7:11

FURTHER READING: Psalm 85:7-13; Matthew 7:11

Jim Burns is the president of HomeWord. He speaks to thousands of people around the world each year. He has more than 2 million resources in print in 20 languages. He primarily writes and speaks on the values of HomeWord, which are: Strong Marriages, Confident Parents, Empowered Kids, and Healthy Leaders. Some of his most popular books are: Doing Life with Your Adult Children. The Purity Code, Creating an Intimate Marriage, Have Serous Fun and Finding Joy in the Empty Nest.  Jim and his wife, Cathy, live in Southern California and have three grown daughters, Christy, Rebecca, and Heidi; three sons-in-law, Steve, Andy and Matt; and three grandchildren, James, Charlotte and Huxley.

For more information and resources please visit HomeWord.com.