It was a very sad weekend at our house, as we all had to say goodbye to a very dear friend of ours. The coffee table that has been so much a part of our family has been cracked beyond using it. It may sound very funny; however it's been hard for us. We've been surrounding that table for so many years; it's difficult to imagine how we're going to live our lives without it.
It's held many flower vases from my husband...
It's been used at all our parties...
It's been colored on by all my children...
It's been worked on by my husband for hours and hours...
We've prayed many many prayers around this table, including our prayer journals each morning...
I've shared many meals night after night here... And one of our favorites of all, I can't even count how many pizzas we've shared as a family during our Friday movie nights...
My family has had multiple gatherings around the table...
It's held all my children's birthday gifts each year as they grow older and older...
I've shared many intimate birthday parties around this table...
We've feasted on chocolate several times...
This table has been the center of a romantic evening many times...
And we've played numerous amounts of games at this table...
My list could go on and on. I don't have pictures of everything that has gone on around this coffee table. It's been a very important part of our lives, and it's sad for me to see that it's gone. It leaves a big hole in my living room that I soon hope to fill again.
The thing I keep telling myself is that it's just an object. It's something that can be replaced. It's hard to look at it that way, but it's true. There is probably hundreds of my table that were sold to people all across the state. It seemed special to me because of all the happenings around it, and the people that were there to make it happen.
The table started out flawless, and slowly got some nicks and dings, some water spots on top, and then eventually a small crack came in the glass top. We still used the table even with the crack, but in the end the crack grew large enough that we couldn't ignore it anymore. We had to get rid of it, or one of my children might have been hurt when the glass top would have shattered.
How often do we have relationships with other people that are like my table? They start out flawless and beautiful in the beginning. We only see the good in them, and we haven't yet been exposed to their weaknesses. Over time, nothing can remain perfect, and undamaged. Our relationships can start to develop water spots, or nicks, or even a small crack in the surface. Once that crack appears, it's very hard to ignore it. It's like an ugly blemish just staring you right back in the face.
How often have you had some small crack in your relationship that you ignored and let it grow until it was so ugly you could no longer stand the sight of them? Everything they did caused you pain, or every time you saw them you were reminded of that blemish.
For me, it's so easy to focus on missing my table because it's up close and personal. It's in my home, and I see the empty place every day. But what about our friends that we've allowed to crack and break like that table, do we still miss them? Are we afraid they're going to shatter so we've written them off, never to speak of them or to them again?
The glass top for my table was never really attached to the wood frame. It could be replaced and my family would be able to start using the table again. However, it's too costly for us. We would rather just buy a new coffee table. Isn't it sad that sometimes we treat our friendships with other people just like that? We would much rather just get a new friend than work to fix the problems or the crack in our old friendship.
No crack can be too big for God to fix. Don't allow your small blemishes in your friendships to grow any larger than they already are. You don't want to get to the place where you must face the decision of whether or not it's worth it to keep your friendship.
I know I have relationships that aren't perfect and beautiful anymore, but I want to hold on to them, and talk about what's going on before I decide to just replace them. I want God to restore them back to the beauty that once was there before.
"As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. " Proverbs 27:17
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