“It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.”  C. S. Lewis

In searching for a quote this morning, I came upon hundreds of them, but this one seems most suitable.  We are at a pivotal point in our nation’s history. People from around the world are looking at the United States wondering what’s next with us.  Folks within the confines of America are pondering the same thing.  Has all hell broken loose?  Is this the beginning of the end?  Are we on a road to self-destruction?

When we look at our short history, we see a series of times of brokenness .  The entire Native American affair was a travesty.  In an attempt to make Christians out of them, we destroyed an entire culture and stole their land.  Slavery caused a Civil War, but did it really change anything?  A war in Viet Nam, gave rise to soldiers returning home scarred with PTSD, illness caused by agent orange and a nation that had no use for them.  When the mass destruction of 911 occurred, we pulled together for a short time, but soon that patriotism was flooded by a wave of narcissism and self-absorption.

In our own personal lives we experience broken hearts, families, relationships.  Our path is paved with trails of tears.  Why? Is something missing from our journey?  Are we left with broken promises, broken marriages, broken bodies and so much more?  The seams of a broken civilization become split and divided.  A path once ‘most traveled’ has now become obliterated by the darkness of time.  Weeds infest the road.  Death overtakes it.  That which was once a path to somewhere has become a road to nowhere.

Sounds pretty gloom and doomish, right?  Well, we can become engulfed in that type of thinking and look at our lives as a series of bumps, bruises, hurdles and roadblocks.  Or we can view those things as opportunities to change – to alter the path – to return to the one who created us.

I cannot even begin to fathom what’s happening in our own country.  We can mend the brokenness, but the cracks and fissures will remain forever.  When we feel broken, we can be like that little egg.  We can stay inside and either grow into something or go bad.  Or we can push our way out, amidst the cracking and breaking of the shell, and start anew.

I don’t think any human being can understand the destruction sin has cause.  In fact, many don’t even know what the word means.  Maybe when faced with difficulty or dissention, we should realize we can’t succeed alone. This is going to take something more powerful than another civil war or a divided nation of hatred and anger. The only hope for us now is to rely on God.