The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34: 18
I have been reviewing my body of poetry and rereading ones I have written over the past fifty some years. Most of them are not worth the ink to print. On the other hand, I have found several poems resonating with the person I have become over those last several decades as I’ve taken my journey with my Savior and Lord. Below is one I wrote during a difficult period prior to the death of my first husband. At the time, each of us knew death loomed to separate us until the Day the Lord returns. We had time to mend what we could of the brokenness in our more than fifty years together. We became “saucers” for each other’s brokenness. In the years since he went home to the Lord, I have found myself as both the broken cup in my walk with the Lord, and a saucer for the brokenness of others.
The metric and rhyme in the poem are not consistent, but inconsistency is part of the brokenness in the metaphor of the poem.
BROKEN
How does something broken
Hold captive something whole?
How can a broken cup hold water…wine?
How can a lost integrity
Of body…mind…self-pity
Ensnare a soul that’s free by its design?
If brokenness cannot be mended
Cracked and useless…no control…
Another vessel needs to rest
Beneath and catch the drops of soul and heart,
Preserving them…work of art…
Encircling love…surrounding as a wreath.
The saucer underneath
Will benefit. That’s fair;
And in the process help the leaky cup
Retain the essence of the whole
Within the bounds … broken bowl,
Engaging with a fragrance lifted up.
A mug might stand alone,
But cups and saucers need to pair,
And one without the other is absurd.
A cup has broken…leaking tea…
My role defined; my empathy.
May I be a “saucer”…deed and word.
June W. Bare (June E. Titus)
Over my long life I have had many “saucers” to undergird my brokenness. Family, friends, church family, and the writings of others were there to catch my tears when I grieved, became ill, suffered a setback, or when I had allowed a crack to form in my spiritual life. Some of you readers have, indeed, been my saucer throughout those years.
As I go through life in the aftermath of these experiences, I know I am to serve as a saucer for others.
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6: 2
I am to encourage them to spill their tears in a non-judgmental atmosphere with a loving, helpful time spent together. I am to empathize—share their emotions as mine.
Better, even best yet, The Lord is there not only to catch the tears, but also to mend the heartbreaks and crumpled spirits for those who belong to Him. Jesus said:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11: 28-30 (NIV)[i]
He is present in our loneliness, our grief, our disappointments, our failures, and yes, our sins.
Have you burrowed into your sorrows and sadness so deeply that you would feel lost if you yielded it up to God? Do you hold your brokenness between your heart and the love and concern of others like a shield. If today you feel like the broken cup, ask God, first, to heal your brokenness—to fill your heart with His spiritual fruits, and then, ask Him to direct you to someone who can come underneath your brokenness to listen to you, to pray with and for you, and walk with you on your journey.
The eternal God is your dwelling place,
and underneath are the everlasting arms.
Deuteronomy 33: 27
Challenge: Who can you depend upon as your saucer? Who do you know who needs a saucer?
Have you ever begun a personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ? If not, simply start by talking to Him. Ask Him to be your saucer. Ask Him to be your Lord and Savior. He will! He is the true One… And if you take this step, send me an email and tell me all about it.
Prayer: Father in Heaven: Praise You for providing a way through the Cross of Christ as He bore our essential brokenness and sinfulness in His death and resurrection. We all need you to be our saucer as we walk through a broken world. Thank you, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
[i] New International Version (NIV)
