‘Life does not accommodate you, it shatters you. It is meant to, and it couldn’t do it better. Every seed destroys its container or else there would be no fruition.’

This quote by Florida Scott-Maxwell is from her small book of meditations on reaching the age of 82. (The Measure of My Days, pg 65). But the idea of life shattering us is not only for older people. Experiences that break our ‘containers’ can happen to people of any age. It may be an unexpected sickness or financial reversal. Or a life detour due to relational breakdown or job termination. Being shattered by life, whether that happens outwardly or in our inner person, is usually unavoidable.

It was 20 years ago yesterday, December 26, 2004, that an earthquake followed by a devastating tsunami struck in Asia. Over 230,000 people were killed in the ensuing waves that hit several coastal areas that we were very familiar with. On that day, our family was in the United States in a sabbatical year. But normally, we would have been on a post-Christmas holiday on the coast of western India. Though we knew no one who died in India or other nations, we did know many affected. And our mission, with many other groups, was heavily involved in relief efforts.

The 2004 Tsunami was an event of extreme shattering. Few of us will go through suffering of such scale. For me, I have had several experiences of shattering of a more personal or family nature. Events or seasons that left me emotionally or physically feeling broken into many pieces. A few weeks ago my daughter and I were decorating for Christmas. Moving a chest together, a porcelain candle holder fell off and broke into several pieces. And it was one of my wife’s favorites! But due to the size of the pieces, we managed to put it back together, outwardly good as new. (My wife is still waiting for us to superglue it.)

In this example, the shattering created big enough pieces for there to be a chance of restoration. But sometimes the shards of glass are so small there can be no fixing. As in the children’s rhyme, ‘All the King’s horses and all the King’s men, couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again.’ (See a blog post I wrote on a similar theme: Humpty Dumpty and the broken pieces). As 2024 comes to an end, do we see the effects of shattering in our lives? Do we notice it in our families, or our nations?

One of the reasons I love the Bible is that it reveals hope in times of shattering. In story after story, both in Old and New Testaments, people face disaster and exile yet find hope in God. Over 91 times, shatter (shabar in Hebrew) as a root is used. The scriptures are not filled with denial of times of shattering, but instead offer prayers of lament that face reality. Lament is integrated then with hope beyond hope. A hope that goes on after human reasons for hope have ended.

Sometimes shattering is caused by our own sin and poor choices. Sometimes we are shattered by the choices and pain of others. There are also seasons where there is no one to blame. A mystery illness or set of circumstances breaks us apart. In any of these times, we feel scattered into pieces. How do we find hope again? Here are a few simple ideas:

1. We face the shattering and declare war on denial. There is a good version of positivism, but also a negative and toxic kind. Facing reality in our lives or our family is vital to mental and emotional health.
2. But we need to face the shattering with the love of others in our lives. Very few (if any) of us can face these kinds of struggles in isolation. We do need the love and support of others.
3. Surrender yourself to the God who created you and loves you more than any one else ever will. We do not know the way ahead or the way of healing. Really when all is said and done, we are helpless on our own.
4. There is new life in some of those shattered pieces. Some of the pieces will never have life again, but in some there is a seed of hope. New life and restoration can grow even from one shattered part.
5. There is mystery in times of shattering in our lives. We can’t figure it out always. But we can still rest and dwell in hope.

Yes, life will shatter us. That is what life does. 2024 may have been a year like that for you. I pray that you will feel some shards of hope in 2025, however small, among the broken pieces.