Meaningful Reflections: The Unbroken Egg
Meaningful Reflections with Chaplain Kim Crawford Meeks is a monthly column that provides words of encouragement for associates at USA Health.
By Kim Crawford Meeks
Spiritual Care Manager
Since the egg represents new life, Spring, and is incorporated into our culture in many traditions this time of year, I thought I would tell you about a little egg that I met once.
On Jan. 23, 2012, my family was in a tornado in Trussville, Alabama. Not long after we got under the stairwell in the basement, our home turned to rubble on top of us. It was complete chaos and horror. The stairwell collapsed on my back, and I was doubled over underneath. Two of the children were completely buried but popped their heads up like birds in a nest and took deep breaths. Gas poured all over us, and the car lights were flashing, as we had to weave through wood, wires, pipes, and debris finding a way out.
After we got out and stood in shock looking at what was our home, there was nothing to do for my family but wait on help. I said to my daughter, “We can do this; we still have one another, and we have the Lord.” I had to turn to my higher power for strength. I pulled a tool out of my toolbox of coping. They tell me I then sang a praise song in the rain. I don’t remember doing this, but my family says I did. When there was nothing physically to do, I used other tools from my toolbox, which was my spirituality.
I found something after the storm that I have added to my toolbox. Three days into the cleanup we found two very contrasting items. The first was a bowling ball. It was broken into pieces and buried in the ground. You don’t think of wind breaking a bowling ball because it is such a hard substance. Then we found an unbroken egg under our rose bush. It wasn’t our egg. Our eggs were also unbroken, in the fridge and rolled down the hill. This unbroken egg came through the tornado that destroyed more than 400 homes, was 800 yards wide and 150 mph. The egg is one of the most fragile things we can think of. We go through cartons at the grocery store to try to find 12 unbroken eggs, yet this egg was resting under our tattered roses without a crack.
The bowling ball reminds me of how tough and strong we try to be in our society, yet we may crumble if we don’t have proper coping tools in our toolbox for those bad days that take us by surprise. The egg reminds me of how fragile we are physically, mentally and spiritually, and yet we can weather the storms when we have the tools we each personally need in our toolboxes. Whatever tools are the right ones for you, your own personal belief system, coping skills, safe people, etc., be sure you have them in your toolbox when you need them. One of the most helpful tools in my toolbox was the support system in my life. May we all be the type of person that is a support in someone’s toolbox to be there when they need us.
Kim Crawford Meeks and the Meaningful Reflections Line can be reached at 251-451-9015.
