Saturday, August 29, 2009

Broken Things to Mend...

I purchased a book written by Jeffrey R. Holland entitled "Broken Things to Mend". I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jeffrey R. Holland is one of the 12 Apostles in the Church. He is one of my very favorite speakers. When I got an eMail from Deseret Book about this book I really wanted to read it. So for my birthday I purchased this little book. Tonight I couldn't get to sleep so I came downstairs to read a bit. I read the first chapter this afternoon and wished I had taken a pencil to mark favorite bits for future reference. Tonight I decided to read that chapter again and put my red pencil to use as I read. There is a poem at the end of this chapter that I just love. It is called "The Carpenter of Nazareth" and was written by George Blair. Keep in mind as you read that the title of this first chapter is "Broken Things to Mend". I felt I wanted to record this beautiful poem in this, my journal. I hope those who read it will appreciate the tender feelings expressed in this beautiful poem. Thank you George Blair for this inspiring bit of poetry.
The Carpenter of Nazareth by George Blair In Nazareth, the narrow road, That tires the feet and steals the breath, Passes the place where once abode The Carpenter of Nazareth. And up and down the dusty way The village folk would often wend; And on the bench, beside Him, lay Their broken things for Him to mend. The maiden with the doll she broke, The woman with the broken chair, The man with broken plough, or yoke, Said, “Can you mend it, Carpenter?” And each received the thing he sought, In yoke, or plough, or chair, or doll; The broken thing which each had brought Returned again a perfect whole. So, up the hill the long years through, With heavy step and wistful eye, The burdened souls their way pursue, Uttering each the plaintive cry: “O Carpenter of Nazareth, This heart, that’s broken past repair, This life, that’s shattered nigh to death, Oh, can You mend them, Carpenter?” And by His kind and ready hand, His own sweet life is woven through Our broken lives, until the stand A New Creation—“all things new.” “The shattered [substance] of [the] heart, Desire, ambition, hope, and faith, Mould Thou into the perfect part,
O, Carpenter of Nazareth!”

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