I have often been intrigued by the verse in Colossians 1:17 that references Jesus and says that in Him all things hold together. I understand it from a theological perspective and believe that there is a picture too big for me to comprehend in which this is absolutely and experientially true.

Yet, in most of our daily lives, we would be less than honest if we didn’t say that we see things coming apart. We acknowledge that we are broken people living in a broken world. Maybe it is like the seemingly random healings that Jesus did when he walked this earth.  On occasion we recognize that something is being mysteriously held together and we have no way to explain it.

This happened to me last week when I met a Senior Adult friend who has been having problems with back pain. She had returned from her orthopedic consultation and x-ray findings. She told me quite calmly that the spinal fusion she had had 5-6 years ago had never healed. The plates that were screwed in to hold the vertebrae in place where just hanging off the bones like Popsicle sticks. I asked her to tell me again as I was trying to reconcile this report with her leaning quite casually on her walker, standing upright and radiating with peace and joy.

On hearing a repetition of this same report I asked, “Then what is holding your back together?” She answered quickly with a confidence that closed the conversation. She simply declared, “The Lord!”