Sometimes lives need mending, and that's OK

Following an accident in my 40th year, I've from time to time needed some mending. As you read this, I will have had another spinal fusion — yesterday.

A spinal fusion always reminds me of a summer visit of grandchildren following my first one in 2001.

As each grandchild arrived I handed them a spiral notebook and pen so they could write down “memories” of our week together.

Within the hour, 6-yearold Sarah came to me in tears. She had torn the picture on the front cover and was asking if she could have a new book. Not having extras, I told her we could mend the one she had.

“What is mending?” she asked. I talked about glue and paste, needle and thread, and surgeons. I shared that I'd been mended just a few weeks before when a doctor had fused the lower part of my back.

“I want to see,” she said. After looking at the incision and the scar that was beginning to form and hearing me tell her that for the first time in 21 years, I was out of pain, Sarah decided mending was a good thing to do. We found the clear tape and mended the tear. Sarah's book was different than the others, but she made sure they understood why it was special.

There are times in our lives when we need mending. Something gets torn. Bones are broken. Body parts wear out. A job ends. A relationship is in trouble. We may have to ask for help, or learn a new skill, but to our surprise we often discover when something has been mended, it may be stronger than ever before.

Granted, there may be a limp or scar, but the good news is, like Sarah's book, we become special, because what we have learned can be used to help someone else who needs mending.