Last Thursday I caught a ride with my office mate to pick up my car at the garage (new clutch-thousand bucks).  As I buckled in I attempted to put on my sunglasses and found they were missing a screw. The temple came off in my hand.  Being in somewhat of a hurry and distracted by the necessity of giving directions, I stuffed the temple in my purse and balanced my sunglasses on my nose.  This proved fruitless and I hopped out of the car at the garage clutching my purse and loose glasses.  In order to drive home in the waning sun, I wore the spare sunglasses I keep in the car.  Later I dumped my purse out and searched for the temple to no avail.  On Friday I checked the floor of my office mate’s car.  Still no temple. I was disappointed.  Sure it was just a cheap pair of fashion shades, but, they fit well and it had taken me several months to spare the $14.00 for something a little nicer than the castoffs I had been wearing.

Saturday I did some shopping for necessities of existence.  On the way home, I  chanced to drive past the garage and on a whim, I swung into the deserted parking lot.  There on the pavement was my missing temple.  I rejoiced as I returned home. I felt very blessed to find what was lost.

Later, when I took out the glasses and optical screw driver to complete the repair, I was concerned to find that the parts did not line up and slip into place.  A closer look revealed that the temple had been run over and the connecting piece bent.  I tried to pry it gently, but, my optical experience told me that the odds of righting it without ruining it were very slim.  I was sad.  “God,” I said, “You gave me back what was lost and it brought me a lot of joy, but it is useless and it is probable the only thing I can do to help will instead break it beyond repair.  What is your purpose in even giving it back?  What is going on here that I need to learn?”

Very swift came the answer:  Some things just cannot be fixed.

Will I try?  You bet!  But, I will not think less of myself if my efforts fail.  I will be at peace.