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Verse:Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom. —Ecclesiastes 9:10, NIV
My grandpa, Josef Kopitar, moved from Austria to Brazil after World War I when he was a teenager. Everyone who has been an immigrant knows how hard it is to start all over in a country where everything is different from one’s homeland. He had many adventures traveling on foot around Brazil. During his life, he worked as a baker, pizza chef, upholsterer, carpenter, builder, and farmer. He also learned about God and gave his heart to Jesus. He taught us by his faithful example how to do things well. He used to walk long distances to study the Bible with others. We could offer him a ride in our car, but he would respond, “Thank you, but I prefer to walk.”
Having a father like Josef Kopitar ensured that my father learned how to fix things—starting from his earlier years. Even now, we always have a list of broken things waiting for my father to fix. He fixes them better than they were when they were new. He saws, sands, retouches, and glues until they are perfect! If he feels his work is not perfect, he starts all over again. He measures carefully, aligns the fruit trees in the garden, levels and centers pictures, and repairs toys, so they are like new once more. This is the way my father does things.
My older nephew, Kaíke, was still a little child when a friend broke one of his toys by accident. After inspecting the severity of the damage, my nephew told him, “Don’t worry. My grandpa is like Jesus. He can fix everything!”
Kaíke is now an adult, but we were taught a great lesson that day by the words of a faithful little kid. Jesus really can fix everything. He can fix broken hearts, broken health, broken relationships, broken bank accounts, broken businesses, broken dreams, and even broken faith.
Sometimes life is not easy for us because we want to do things our way. But I am learning to surrender all to Jesus. He knows better than we do how to cut, mend, sandpaper, and retouch us so that we can become new in Him.
Would you like to surrender to Jesus your “broken toy” today and watch patiently what the outcome will be? Whatever is broken in your life, keep in mind that Jesus can fix anything!
Kênia Kopitar