I wonder about the nursery rhyme, “Humpty Dumpty.” What do you suppose prompted someone to write a riddle about a personified egg?
(Nothing in the rhyme states that Humpty was an egg. But I’ve never seen a picture with a stalk of asparagus sitting on the wall. The egg thing works for me.)
I also wonder why our parents thought it was something cute to tell us.
The story ends very badly, you know. Since that doesn’t sit well with me, I wrote a new ending.
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.
My ending …
And then Humpty’s friend quickly jumped in to help out.
She saw all the pieces and exclaimed with no doubt,
“I’m so sorry this happened and I know what to do!
It happened to me. I’ll help make you like new.”
There are days we feel like Humpty Dumpty, right? Our world is crashing around us. We just can’t seem to keep it together.
On other days, we are jumping in. Noticing our friends who are breaking into pieces. We’ve been there – we understand. We walk with them through the cracking and crashing and help them put the pieces back together.
If you’re feeling a little Humpty today, lift up your head. Reach out to a friend. (Letting your pride get in your way is just … well, it’s not helpful to you at all.) Make the call. Send the text. Ask for support or encouragement.
If you see someone whose shell is starting to crack, reach out. Ask God to show you how you can help. (God may be using YOU as His answer to their tears and prayers! How cool is that!)
Jesus offers the most beautiful example of reaching out and stepping in.
Matthew describes it in the 14th chapter of his book:
“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”
Jesus saw the need.
He felt the need.
He met the need.
Look around you. See any eggshells on the ground? Do you hear the sound of eggs cracking?
How can you help?
You and I have our own cracked shells. We’ve fallen off that wall more times than we can count. And that is what we have to offer our friends.
We understand hard times and broken pieces. We’ve been there.
So, we reach out and step in.
We see the need. Feel the need. Meet the need.
Let’s do that, OK?
P.S. This “reaching out and stepping in” way of living and serving is an important foundation of the Called Creatives community I’m in. My dreams of writing books and speaking encouragement to women’s hearts were energized BIG TIME when I joined this community of Christian writers, speakers, podcasters, and entrepreneurs.
There’s not enough space here to tell you about it. So, click on this link for helpful information. God’s put a dream in your heart. Join a community of women who are leaning into what God has for us – all of us with cracks in our shells. Message me with questions!
