When It Comes Crashing Down

Anchor: to secure firmly into position; provide with a firm basis or foundation.

When I was a little girl I always wanted a Raggedy Ann doll. I never got one. It’s not like I didn’t have a Holly Hobby or Cabbage Patch Kid. It was not a big deal. But I always wanted one.

So a little over 20 years ago, I started a collection of Raggedy Ann and Andy figurines. Each a numbered piece of a few hundred made, and after several years I had collected many. I spent hundreds on those little ceramic figures. All very cute scenes of the two of them being kids: bathing a dog, jumping rope, skipping, playing jacks, skating or my favorite; swinging under a rose covered arbor. My ex even made me a shelf on which to display the lot of them. And so I did!

As time went on and decor changed, those precious to me figurines ended up in a box, that ended up in the shed, figuring I would gift them to my granddaughter one day.

When I was moving from my house into the apartment, I decided I wanted to bring them out again. So I bought a new shelf, and my best friend helped me to hang it and display them in my new bedroom. They reminded me of a freer time in life, and I was really the only one who got to see them, so I decided to just own it.

Last night, in the middle of the night, I was awakened by a huge crashing noise. I jumped from my bed and turned on the light to find the shelf they had been on had come crashing down, along with all of my figurines, which were now in pieces. 

I just stared at my bedroom floor for a few moments, struck by the devastation of my collection. I couldn’t face it so I picked up the larger pieces that I saw and went back to bed.

When I woke this morning, upon further inspection I realized that though it had hung for almost a year just fine, the top screw had started slanting downward… we hadn’t anchored it first. (Face palm)

I know better. I know that heavy things require an anchor. I know this! But I was so excited to get them back on display, I skipped a vital step, and over time, it didn’t hold.

I saw in the midst of my shattered figurines, that the investments I make in a life also require an anchor. Investments that will hold or fall, depending on that initial set up.

Most of my relationships have ended because there was not an anchor. Several failed life decisions have been made without an anchor. In spite of how excited I was, or how pretty it all seemed, when things got too heavy it all came crashing down at a huge cost. All due to that simple, very important step that wasn’t placed prior to the building upon. A lot of pain in my life could have been avoided with the simple choice to use what has been made available to sustain the weight. Without the anchor, devastation is sure to occur.

I am saddened that my collection is lost. But I am thankful for the symbolism shown me in the mess of it all.

Lesson learned, Lord. Let me not forget…