Broken and Scattered

A gift from my mom over a decade ago; that pretty glass lamp stood guard beside our bed night after night, year after year. Always turned out right after countless "sweet dreams" and "I love yous"; it served as the exclamation point to our sentiments. It was beautiful and illuminated our way through many midnight conversations, both serious and silly. Our lamp was shining when we answered the 3 A.M. phone call advising us of my mom's death and it continued to shine as John held me while I cried. As a couple we huddled inside it's unfailing beacon as we planned and hoped, dreamed and prayed, fought our battles and made our peace.

Now, a broken and unfortunate victim of a four-legged creature's misdeed; a misaligned jump or an over-zealous chase, maybe.

In time, a new lamp will take it's place, something to carry on the work of lighting our way through life's maze. But, for now, the table beside our bed stands empty and dark. A small reminder of how quickly life can change; how unexpectedly we can lose the things we hold most dear. Everything in this life happens for a purpose; God's hand touches every second of the day. A broken lamp of all things, opened my heart to be more grateful of my blessings; to celebrate them before they are gone.

Somewhere in the future, when my spirit leaves this earth and my body is laid to rest, my family will go about the task of sorting through my belongings. Someone will find tucked inside my jewelry box a small piece of broken glass. They may question why I would keep such a trivial and seemingly meaningless item, never realizing the value I placed upon it.

They will not know how it served as an example to me of how quickly and unexpectedly life can become broken and scattered. How could anyone guess that a shard of glass taught me how to appreciate what I have now before it is lost to me forever.

Until the day I die, that small piece of a broken lamp will remain. And remind.