Things to Mend

One of my great weaknesses is pride. Earlier today I was thinking about how I sorta like fixing things and solving problems. That is, things that need fixing and problems that need solving outside of myself. Where pride comes in is that I seldom will allow anyone to attempt to help me, let alone do I ask for help. (The thought is usually either “you can’t”, or “I don’t want to bother anyone with my troubles or needs.”)

There is one that I do believe can help, and while driving home this poem was brought to my mind with a desire to share it.

The Carpenter of Nazareth

In Nazareth, the narrow road,

That tires the feet and steals the breath,

Passes the place where once abode

The Carpenter of Nazareth.

And up and down the dusty way

The village folk would often wend;

And on the bench, beside Him, lay

Their broken things for Him to mend.

The maiden with the doll she broke,

The woman with the broken chair,

The man with broken plough, or yoke,

Said, “Can you mend it, Carpenter?”

And each received the thing he sought,

In yoke, or plough, or chair, or doll;

The broken thing which each had brought

Returned again a perfect whole.

So, up the hill the long years through,

With heavy step and wistful eye,

The burdened souls their way pursue,

Uttering each the plaintive cry:

“O Carpenter of Nazareth,

This heart, that’s broken past repair,

This life, that’s shattered nigh to death,

Oh, can You mend them, Carpenter?”

And by His kind and ready hand,

His own sweet life is woven through

Our broken lives, until they stand

A New Creation—“all things new.”

“The shattered [substance] of [the] heart,

Desire, ambition, hope, and faith,

Mould Thou into the perfect part,

O, Carpenter of Nazareth!”

— George Blair

I originally heard this poem in a talk given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in the April 2006 General Conference, a talk which is among my favorites.