The Broken Ice Heart

An art mistake taught me a lesson in God’s love and patience.

In my spare time, I create things out of resin. It’s an addictive hobby. I’ve made dragon statues, pen holders, necklaces, memorial pieces, and all kinds of other stuff.

I decided to try something new and create a heart that looked made of ice. Borax crystals proved the perfect medium to create a frosty effect. I poured resin over the crystals and let it harden. After twenty-four hours I pulled the heart out of the mold and admired its unique look.

My resin addiction got the better of me though. While I was working on another project, I accidentally stuck my icy heart into a puddle of sticky resin. The resin dried over the top causing the surface to become uneven and the frosty center to become distorted. I sighed in disappointment. I enjoyed making that heart and now I ruined it.

An idea ignited in my brain. If I could sand the excess resin off and remove anything that didn’t belong, I might be able to restore its shape. Then I could paint a thin layer of resin over the top to restore its former glory.

 I slipped on my goggles, started my Dremel, and let white resin dust fly.

At that moment I had a revelation.

This is what God does with us. Sometimes we get into something we weren’t supposed to. We lose our perfect shape. We come out deformed and mutilated. Our pure white hearts are squished into a pile of goo and harden in neglect. 

That’s when God takes the Dremel and sands away everything that is not a part of him. He removes anything causing problems in our structure, dusting us off every few seconds to admire our emerging beauty. He slowly sands away the impurities, problems, and imperfections until we are that pure white heart again.

Sure, it’s messy and time-consuming, but God is patient because he knows what the process will bring. He loves us enough to take time to repair us instead of starting over. Through his gentle but firm touch, he restores our hearts. Making us whole and pure.

When this thought shot into my mind, I asked my husband to take a picture. I didn’t want to forget this little nugget of wisdom God tossed me in the middle of my craziness.

It may not be the best picture, but I encourage you to examine it. Imagine that you are this heart and God is the one holding you. He knows what you’ve been through and knows the kind of goo you got shoved into. He knows it probably wasn’t even your fault you got messed up the way you did.

Once His job is done, He will dust you off and place you on the shelf to show you off.

“Look at my creation!” He’ll say, “Don’t you think it’s marvelous?”

Because you, my friend, are His treasured possession, and no matter what you’ve been through, He’s willing to fix you. No matter how long it takes or how much it costs Him.

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