The old Rusty bent nail

The above title is inspired by a story told by Mark Link in his commentary on the readings for the 15^th Sunday of the year. Here is the story: “There was a man named Bill. He was a prominent contractor. In time the pressure of his business caused him to turn to alcohol. Before long he separated from his family, and his business went bankrupt. One day Bill was walking down the street. He happened to look down. There on the sidewalk was a bent, rusty nail. Bill thought to himself, “That nail is a perfect picture of me. I’m rusty and bent out of shape, too. I’m good for nothing but to be thrown away, just as that nail is.” Bill stooped down, picked up the nail, and put it in his pocket. When he got home, he took a hammer and began to pound it straight. Then he took some sandpaper and removed the rust from it. Next Bill placed the nail alongside a new one. He could hardly tell the difference between the two. A thought flashed through Bill’s mind. His life could be straightened out and sanded clean again, just as the nail was. But it wouldn’t be easy! Could he take the hard blows and sanding? He decided to try. Today Bill is reunited with his family, and he is back in the construction business. He owes everything to that old, rusty, bent nail that he found on the sidewalk at just the right time in his life. To this day he keeps the restored nail in his wallet.”

This indeed is a powerful life story that has a lesson for everyone. Those who work in recovery centers will tell you that persons who depend on substances often reach the end of their ropes – the rock bottom – before they ever think of turning their life around. If you have watched the film titled Ray, you would notice that the musician – Ray Charles had abused drugs for a long time and for him to have turned his life around, he had to make a conscious decision to get into recovery program, and this was by no means a child’s play. But you see; our God is a God of a second chance. He would always assist anyone who calls on him for help. But the conscious decision has to be made by the individual who needs help. The common saying is “God helps those who help themselves.” The Book of Revelation 3:20 puts it even better, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, (then) I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.” Yes the Lord will knock at your door, but you have to open it for him before he will enter and be with you. Only then will good things begin to happen to you.

The problem at times is that we lack the courage to begin a new, to pick up the bits and pieces of our lives and do something about it. With courage comes the willpower and the belief in ourselves (what the psychologists call self efficacy) that no matter what was done in the past could be corrected today for a better tomorrow. Many times people are compartmentalized and stigmatized so much so that it makes it near to impossible to start afresh. Life has taught us that many of the rich people that we see and know in our society today were not all born with silver spoons in their mouths. Many of them made a lot of mistakes in the past but had the courage to rise above those mistakes in order to be the men and women they are today.  Today we know them as millionaires.

Is this not the story of the prodigal son found in Luke Gospel 15:11-32? The prodigal son had to swallow his pride and made a homeward journey to his father. Verses 17 to19 said it all; “Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my farther and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers. So he got up and went back to his Father.” No matter what we may have done in the past cannot be as bad as thinking that we have come to the end of the road. There is always a better tomorrow for those who have hope. And for those who have hope, their tomorrow will always be better than today.

Keep the story of the old rusty bent nail close to your heart. If the rusty bent nail was beaten back to shape and restored to a shinny new nail so can you. Recall Jeremiah and the potter’s vessel in chapter 18:1-12. We are like the clay in the hands of the potter. Sometimes we do not turn out to be what the potter intended, we must allow the potter to make another shape of his choice out of us. Be patient with yourself and make use of the chances you have, you have what it takes to make a better tomorrow for yourself. Do not give up and please do not quit. Keep faith alive and know that Emmanuel is with you always even till the end of your life.