Last Sunday in the worship service, I used “Humpty Dumpty” as the focal point of the Children’s Message (a segue into Pastor Frank’s sermon Picking up the Pieces). I asked the children why all of the kings horses and all of the kings men didn’t look for help, specifically from God, when they found Humpty shattered into pieces. I guess when we look at the situation from the outside, on a macro level, it is easy to second-guess those who arrived to help poor Humpty. It’s always easier to solve someone else’s problems, right? However, when it is our mess we are facing, we too often forget from where to draw our own strength for restoration. Maybe it is human nature, but those times when we need God the most are typically the times when we seek Him the least. Instead, we continue to try and solve messes on our own, ironically, because it was most likely our doing that brought the mess into our lives in the first place. We act just like Humpty, the horses and the men.
The story of Humpty Dumpty reminds me of the song, Praise You in this Storm, from the Christian group Casting Crowns. The song just reminds us to praise God no matter where we are because God catches all of our tears and is ever by our side. Even more simply, we should praise God equally from the mountaintops and the valleys of our lives. But, I know this is tough.
Our world is a messy and broken place. However, stop for a second and think of how refreshing it is when someone praises God amidst the pieces. You don’t even have to be a believer to see inspiration in the amazing strength of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, a church community who continued to glorify God throughout their recent, and darkest days. Or, perhaps take your thoughts closer to home and reflect on the amazing faith of Pinnacle’s mission partner in Haiti, Harmony Church, illustrated in Pastor Harmon’s sermon last weekend. We see folks keeping their faith through amazing trials and tribulations and we see where it takes them. So why should our individual story be any different?
We don’t know if Humpty Dumpty was a person of faith nor if the horses and men knew God either. We also have no idea why God didn’t intervene to keep him from falling. And, even though Humpty Dumpty is not a biblical parable, it sure has a powerful lesson for us. It represents our trials and tribulations. More importantly, it reminds us that we don’t have to be shattered eggs. After all, an egg needs to be cracked open before anything can be done with it.
