The Doll

The doll was given as a gift to a young girl. She was beautiful with silken hair, a white dress, and new shoes. The doll was whole, clean, untouched, and pretty. The girl cared for the doll and kept it safe. But one day she forgot the doll at the park. It was abandoned, alone, and forgotten. The rain fell on the doll, and the water stained her face. Her hair lost its shine, and her clothes became dirty from the muddy ground seeping up around her. Then a boy found the doll and dragged her behind him. He threw her up in the sky and she hit the playground bars. He pulled her hair and tore her dress. Then he threw her to the ground -- her face, cracked and broken. Pieces were missing. The doll was no longer beautiful, but ugly and used. No one cared about the doll. It was not wanted by anyone -- left alone to be stepped on, thrown in a corner and left to wither away. The doll was stained, dirty, torn, broken, and not whole. Then, a doll maker in the park noticed the doll. He picked her up and examined her carefully. He saw a name written on her. He brought her back to his workshop and rolled out his tools. He carefully laid the doll on his workspace and began the painstaking task of cleaning and fixing the doll. He first takes off the dirty, stained clothes. He discards the old to bring in the new clothes. Then He removes what remained of her matted hair pulled out by the boy. He looks over her broken body and face, taking in every detail. The doll maker cleans her body and gives her a new face for the broken one. He beautifully paints on her lips then add eyes with a sparkle. He puts new silken hair where the old had been lost and He brushes it until it shines. He carefully selects a dress with new shoes to match. And He holds the doll up high to marvel at His work. The doll maker had taken something battered, stained, dirty, and broken into pieces -- making it into a new, beautiful masterpiece for the world to see. Like the doll maker who repairs and fixes dolls, Christ will take us and repair us. He will pick us up, fix, clean, and care for us. We will become wanted and new for Him. For we are beautiful in his eyes. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. ~ Psalm 51:10