Gingerly I came to you, holding shards of broken glass in the palms of my trembling hands. I hesitated, stopping just out of sight, face downcast, weeping. These are my broken pieces.

How fragile the human heart, wounded by words that hurt that harm that bruise, words that cause us to withdraw and hide. How many times the human heart—that fragile object, that battered creature, has to endure the torment of malice-imbibed words? How many times the human heart, being dropped and shattered again and again, have to be pieced together, a hasty and incomplete job? The human soul is a battered one, scarred and disfigured.

Eventually you saw me. Your words were ever gentle and kind, ever-loving, life-changing. You encouraged me, gave me strength in my times of weakness, uplifted me when I’m down, gave me hope when there seemed to be none. You are my dream-giver, my healer, the light of my life.

You took the pieces from my hands, molded them, reshaped them. Gave it back to me whole. You completed my life, healed my soul. Like a wounded animal I came to you, yet you took me in and restored me.

How many times have I failed you? How many times have I said, “I don’t need you in my life?” How many times have I neglected you, ignored you, put you second fiddle? Yet whenever I come running into your arms an injured creature, you embraced me and forgave me.

You’ve given me hope and a vision for the future. Gave me a purpose to live, when so many others are so lost in life. O how I want to do you proud! How I want the world to know of your great deeds, of your love and your goodness. You are the reason why I live, why I breathe, the reason for my existence!

O God, you gave me something I’ve never thought that I could have: a restored soul, a sense of self-worth, a confidence for the future. And for everything, I thank you.

I love you, I love you, I love you…

I love you, I love you, I love you…