The Backpack

      My children gave me a nice backpack years ago, and the handsome pack lasted well, carrying my personal belongings daily to work in sun, rain and snow for years. Then the zipper of the middle section got a snag. The snag seemed to get worse daily, so that finally the zipper broke altogether and the compartment was left open, with no way to shut it.
      I brought the backpack to a tailor, but after inspecting it, he said it would cost as much to replace the zipper, as to buy a brand new backpack. If I had brought the backpack to him, as soon as there was a problem with the zipper, he could have fixed it easily, he said. But now, it was a major job.
      In the meantime, I used a smaller backpack, with wheels and red polka dots, and one stranger remarked to me that they were going to purchase a more "professional-looking" backpack than mine and that mine certainly was noticeable!
      I considered using a gift card to go to a mall for a new backpack, but I had never been to that mall, don't like shopping and wanted to use the gift card for something else. Besides, this backpack was special, because my children had given it to me.
      When I checked on-line, I discovered that zippers of the correct size and color for my backpack were available on-line for only $6 (plus shipping). I ordered one and it arrived in a few days and after several hours of sewing, my backpack had a new zipper, that worked and was better quality than the original! I had my backpack again—no more polka dots and cramming things into a little backpack!
      So, it is with our relationship with our Heavenly Father. If I had brought the backpack to the tailor at the first sign of trouble, the problem would have been easy to fix. So, we need to catch the tears in the beginning and deal with them with the help of our Heavenly Father, before they become a big problem. But, just as the backpack got a new zipper, God can renew us and heal us, when we come to Him in repentance, in the name of His Messiah, Yeshua.