Poor Sweet Pea. He’d had a rough life. Apparently he’d been dropped on his head: the large ceramic figure’s face had been shattered and badly reglued. So his owners, collectors of all things bulldog, took him to The Repair Shop (Netflix).
(I am broken, too. Some days I think I’m too damaged to be bothered with. All my efforts to mend myself have failed miserably. I need help.)
Lord, you alone can heal me, you alone can save, and my praises are for you alone. Jeremiah 17:14 Living Bible
Ceramics Conservator Kirsten began by trying to chemically release the old adhesive so she could cleanly mend him. This was less successful than she hoped. The glue was strong and the broken ceramic edges were delicate and in danger of further damage.
You, too, are gentle with me, Lord. You know how fragile I am, how likely to crack under pressure. You touch me with a careful hand.
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:13-14 (NIV)
Rather than risking more damage, Kirsten decided to patch the old, imperfect mends. It was painstaking work, finished by careful paint-matching his stippled surface.
And so You mend me, covering my faults with Your mercy, fashioning me to be more like Your Son.
Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Psalm 32:1 NIV
With Sweet Pea finished, his owners returned for him. They could not believe their eyes. The ceramic figure looked new! Not one single crack was visible, inside or out!
Lord, when You look at me, You don’t see my cracks either. You see me whole and perfect, which, by the work of Your grace, and through the Lord Christ Jesus, I one day truly will be.
After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, the one who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself restore, empower, strengthen, and establish you. To him be power forever and always. Amen.
1 Peter 5:10-11 Common English Bible (CEB)