“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7
As I climbed down the stairs from my deck to water my newly planted flowers, I noticed that my watering can was leaking. This small detail seemed to escalate the ache in my heart. My teenage daughter had two car accidents in the last week and had felt little remorse. Instead she was difficult and moody and demanded that her life continue as usual. The insurance mess and concern over how we were going to pay for the damage to her car and the effect on our insurance was overwhelming. In just a few weeks she was graduating from High School. She was not excited about attending college and seemed to have regressed spiritually. Our relationship had been reduced to bickering and tears most days. I felt like such a failure as a mother.
I continued to climb down the stairs, carrying the faulty watering can with tears streaming down my face. All of a sudden I was reminded of the parable of the “Cracked Pot”, which is a story about a water bearer who carried two large pots to deliver water to his Master’s house:
In the story of the “Cracked Pot” one of the pots was cracked and the pot apologized to the water bearer that he could only carry a pot half full. The water bearer showed him that for two years his cracked pot had watered his side of the road creating a beautiful flower garden along the roadside. Further more he had told the cracked pot that he had always known about his flaw and took advantage of it. He had planted the seeds on his side of the path and every day his cracked pot watered the flowers. The water bearer had been able to decorate his Master’s table with the beautiful flowers, he told him that without him being just the way he was, he would not have this beauty to grace his Master’s house.
I was comforted as I remembered this story. Suddenly my spirits were lifted. I realized that God knows my flaws and my daughters and he will use our failure to bless His table. I stopped crying and started thanking God for saving my daughter from being hurt in those car accidents. I thanked Him for sending this lesson which might save her life when she drives again. I remembered all the times in my life when I felt like a failure, but God had turned that failure into a blessing when I had let go of self-pity. I went into the house after finishing my work in the garden. I picked up my devotional and read these words:
“God uses ordinary people like us with flaws and cracks in our pots.”
What I read only further convinced me that God was speaking to my heart. Perhaps I need to ask God to use this brokenness for His purpose. I need to remind myself that when I feel like a failure He is simply taking the reigns from my hands and using my flaws to help me to do His will.
I wrote this piece on “the cracked pot” last year just around this time. God restored my relationship with my daughter. Although she was hesitant about going away to college, she had an amazing year. She made so many friends, volunteered to work on the entertainment committee and did excellent in her studies. She is a more confident young woman. During this last year she has gone from being my little girl and grown into an impressive young woman. Our relationship is no longer a mom and a little girl, but two women living our life in a family side-by-side. The cracks in our relationship were mended by the Lord and I see now that the distancing was all part of her breaking away so that she could become her own person. The accidents have made her become a much more careful driver and making her deal with the details of her accident reports and insurance have made her be accountable. The hope is that we are all jars of clay and sometimes when all seems lost…it is only our Lord sculpting us into something brand new.
One Day At A Time 