My daughter phoned me this morning to say there was a courier outside our shared gate and he had come to collect her son’s watch which was broken.
“Not the new one he just bought?” I asked. My heart sank. My grandson loved that watch. We were babysitting a couple of nights ago and praying to the tune of The Lord is good to me. When it was my grandson’s turn to say thank you, he thanked God for his watch. He had been given several gifts of money for his birthday and he had put them together to buy a real sports watch costing more than we would ever consider for a grandchild’s birthday present. He must be heartbroken.
“Yes,” my daughter confirmed. “That watch.”
My mind went back to another grandson and another watch. Last year my husband and I flew to New Zealand to spend time over Christmas with our son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren. I had asked their mother what super heroes or Disney characters the children were into and she told me her oldest son loved Catboy from PJ Masks. Imagine my delight, therefore, when I found a Catboy watch in a toy shop for a price within our Christmas budget. On Christmas morning our grandson was so excited to get his new watch. A week later he told me, “Granny, I love my watch very much.”
Then the inevitable happened. The watch broke. Not the watch itself, but the strap. I was heartbroken for him.
What is the answer? Should we avoid cheap presents because they will break? Well, the sports watch of my South African grandson was by no means cheap and it broke. Should we avoid presents altogether? I don’t think so. I think it is important for children to learn at a young age that nothing in this world lasts forever. Yes we mourn a loss of what used to be ours. Our heartbreak is real.
Recently my best friend’s mother had a stroke and can no longer care for herself. She is desperately unhappy and wants to go home. Her life as she knew it in her own home is broken. It will never be the same again.
All we have is a gift from God, our job, marriage, children, talents, health, wealth. Nothing in this world lasts forever. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matth. 24:35)
I love my life, my husband, my home, my family. Truly The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places; yes, I have a goodly heritage. (Ps 16:6) I thank God every day for my blessings but it behoves me to remember that nothing on this earth lasts forever. Best I set my heart on things that will not break, will last forever. Matthew 6:17 could be paraphrased, “Do not set your heart on things of this earth, which will pass away, but rather set your heart on things above that are eternal.”
Coffee in the Rain 