Cracked Pot

Dear readers, This is a story that really touched my heart and I hope that it will touch yours =)

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. 'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.' The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?' 'That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.' 'For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'

Dear friends, God is like the woman in this story. God already knows our weaknesses when He created us. In Romans 8:28, the Bible says that "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

God can use our weakness like this cracked pot to be a blessing to the people around us, to be a vessel for the glory of God to flow through. Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

Maybe you feel that you are not good enough, people have told you that you are useless, but the apostle Paul says in 2 Cor 12:9 that God's strength is made perfect in our weakness. In Romans 8:29-30 "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified."

Friends, God knew you before you were born! God has predestined you to become like Jesus! You have been called, justified and glorified! God has a great plan for you in life! God can use your flaws to achieve great things in life! Amen!

With Love,

Tian