Beautiful but Fragile
For Christmas, some years ago, a dear friend gave me a reprint of a book from the mid-1890s. It is a recipe book of sorts, and it tells how to make everything from common household cleaners to medication to explosives.
The recipes and information are fascinating, although I don’t think I’ll try most of them. Many of the processes are highly dangerous.
One of the things I learned how to make was called Prince Rupert’s Drops or Prince Rupert’s Tears. According to one source, “The drops are named after Prince Rupert of the Rhine, who brought them to England in 1660, although they were reportedly being produced in the Netherlands earlier in the 17th century and had probably been known to glassmakers for much longer.”
PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS. The tears are made by letting drops of molten glass fall into a tub of cold water. The glass hits the water and cools, creating beautiful tear-shaped drops. They are hard, clear, and have a small glass tail on them.
Amazingly, when you hold a drop and break off its tail, it explodes into fine powder, and the explosion can be felt in your hand. I suspect that a vacuum must be formed when the glass hits the water, and when air is let in, the drop can’t handle the pressure change.
At first, the recipe was simply one of those interesting but useless pieces of trivia that can catch my attention occasionally. The more I thought about it, the more I realized what an apt metaphor for life it was.
Our hearts can be as beautiful as Prince Rupert’s Tears and just as fragile.
We go through life with hearts that are hard and empty. An event will occur that shatters our hearts, and we’re left holding nothing but dust. The impact of the brokenness rocks our world. At that moment, many of us realize that we need a relationship with Jesus.
Fortunately, we serve the God who mends the brokenhearted. When we encounter them, we can share the reason for our hope and joy.
…in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect 1 Peter 3:15 ESV
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13 ESV
Until next time, if your heart is breaking, turn to the one who can heal it. If you know someone with a broken heart, tell them about Jesus.
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin