Shards of Glass
By Merna Short of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Collectively and individually, you are loved with an everlasting love that delights in each faithful step taken. God yearns to draw you close so that wounds may be healed, emptiness filled, and hope strengthened.
Do not turn away in pride, fear, or guilt from the One who seeks only the best for you and your loved ones. Come before your Eternal Creator with open minds and hearts and discover the blessings of the gospel anew. Be vulnerable to divine grace. —Doctrine and Covenants 163:10
Delicate shards of broken glass shattered onto the bed. Gently, I picked them up. As I looked intently from all angles, I saw tiny, glistening fragments. It soon became obvious I could not find them all, even with the use of a vacuum upholstery brush. I would have to dispose of the blanket.
As I worked, a tiny piece of glass lodged in the pad of my finger. It was too tiny to see and remove. The practical first step was to apply a poultice and draw it out.
I thought, “What a good lesson for life this is.” There are times when we need to remove items or issues that offend or detract us from God’s purposes. Often we must discard the offense and anything tainted by it, as the blanket.
Hurts, grudges, and pricks of life left unforgiven or unresolved work their way into our lives like the unseen, but painful, shard of glass. If left to fester, they keep pricking, irritating, and disrupting our spiritual formation.
We should pray for those who have hurt us. We need to attend to these distractions without delay and remove them from our lives, leaving us free to be the useful disciples we want to be—leaving us free to engage in Christ’s mission.
Prayer for Peace
Forgiving God, help us transform hurts into opportunities for forgiveness. Help us dissolve our unresolved grudges. May we let them go so we may pursue peace.
Spiritual Practice: Healing and Reconciliation
Gather a small mound of stones. Meditate on the stones as symbols of differences and destructive acts that continue to separate and wound the human family. Name and anoint each “stone wound” with a drop of water or scented oil. Offer them to God in a prayer for healing and reconciliation.
Peace Covenant
Today, God, I will set myself free of grudges and guilt, using the gift of your peaceful Spirit.
