There is a pot that I see.
Sitting so bold in front of me.
One day, I take this cracked pot out.
And patch it from pieces lying around.
I get out color. Paint it from plain.
I want dazzle, beauty, fame.
….from my pot.
I work hard.
Diligently.
Faithfully.
Day in. Day out.
But eventually I find….My pot isn’t good enough.
It sits outside. Patched. Appearing well fixed…
Until the rain came.
And all my hard work, melts with the rain.
Colors streams down. Carefully placed patches floating away.
This well cracked piece of brokenness now vulnerably displayed.
And the water attempts to fill this vessel fast.
Broken.
Left.
Empty.
Ignored.
But the rain shows no mercy…..Coming down more.
And what I had worked so hard to perfect….now destroyed.
The vessel.
No use.
Water spewing
From every hole.
Fractures shattered.
Tattered.
Vessel not holding….
The rain.
Cracks now visible too. Nothing striking. Beauty….ruined.
And with joy now deflated. I turn to leave it.
Until….
I hear him say.
“This vessel is you.”
The broken one? I thought. Devastated at the thought.
But then, I look again and…..
The pot…….
I had longed to fix, repair….
Streamed forth a flood like never before. And……
The places once broken from life’s hard impact…
Where the very same places….
Water freely streamed out.
And I knew….
The broken places…..had a purpose. They were the very same places, God used. For it was there, He flowed through.
While pretty.
And painted.
And repairs, so nice prior.
All my vessel could do was to hoard and gloat prideful.
But now. In this moment of divine revelation…..
I saw it.
This vessel once holding and hiding the rain…In it’s brokenness became….the places he poured through to….the lowliest of places.
And I carried my vessel tight. Held it close…..to my heart.
Somehow not ashamed that it was tarnished and maimed.
For, I saw….it’s weakness become port holes of strength.
As I carried tattered brokenness…..
Home with me….
In the rain.
Linking w/ Living Well
22 Comments
All my vessel could do was to hoard and gloat prideful.
This vessel once holding and hiding the rain…In it’s brokenness became….the places he poured through to….the lowliest of places
This is lovely…I can so relate to these lines…brokeness frees us to live open…letting all be seen…the beautiful and the ugly.
Blessings~
This reminds me that my works apart from Him are an exercise in futility, leaving lots of empty places in my heart. What a powerful poem.
Hi Jen – Isn’t it amazing how we can all relate to being a cracked pot. And humbling that God uses the cracks in our lives the most to encourage and help others. Lovely post
God bless
Tracy
Ells – Love how you said, accepting “our brokenness frees us to live open…letting all be seen”. The desire of all mankind….transparency. Yet, how often we run from our brokenness & hide in false, futile masks. Thanks for the great response!!
Donna – Was so thinking about this when I wrote it…how works are like self-imposed patches. Not perfecting, but simply covering what we really are apart from Him.
Tracy – So true….we all have holes. And what an amazing God we have who does not throw us way as a result of our imperfections…but uses what the enemy meant to harm us with….for good!!
Thanks everyone. Your comments charge even more thought on this subject…good stuff! Love ~ jen
Wow, that was great! I am a new follower from the Wild Wed. Hop! You can follow me back at http://raisingmy5sons.com 🙂
I love the pictures that you paint so flawlessly with words. Beautiful!
Mandee – Thanks for the follow. Will be sure to check out your blog. Thanks for the comment.
Alida – Thank you.
that makes for a beautiful metaphor…and yeah we try to patch it up our selves or make it look pretty but in the end only he can…
I can never understand how God could use my brokenness to bring Him glory. But there is something about my weakness that is so beautiful to Him. Your words today are so beautiful!
hi, a new follower here from WWH!
http://vlayugan.blogspot.com/
hope you can follow back 🙂
nice post BTW. 😉
Brian – Amen! So true.
Barbie – Yes, our weakness…really our strengths. Our History…so often part of our destiny.
Vhen – Thank you for following. Will come by soon.
Bless you each. ~ jen
“The broken places…..had a purpose. They were the very same places, God used. For it was there, He flowed through.”
In much need of these words of hope for our broken places; thank you for sharing this, a beautiful metaphor!
Thanks Anna!
oh friend, yes, he flows through our broken places. so perfect for imperfect prose… thank you sister, for sharing your beautiful heart with us.
Emily – So in awe of your brokenness and how God is using you through it! A great testament to the truth of this metaphor. ~ jen
Beautiful post. Love this concept.
Absolutely beautiful!! Thank you so much for sharing it on my Linky party.
Blessings,
Cyndi
Your post is lovely! What a great idea for the broken pot. It has the perfect place to sit now. Beautiful photos, thanks for sharing. Happy Scenic Sunday!
Wonderful piece on a clay vessel… elements of wanting to know what would happen next… existed in your words. Nice job.
Absolutely beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
Blessings,
Charlotte
Such a beautiful post, spoke to my soul. Last night I dreamed of something beautiful standing in front of me, it appeared to be broken yet put back together. Like glass.. translucent, faint colors shining off of the broken pieces.. I had wondered what God was trying to tell me.. then I read your amazing words tonight. It represented me, us.. Someone once read that God flow through our broken pieces easier. I would rather be broken and have Him flowing through me much like pots within the Potter’s hand.
Such a blessing reading this! Thank you.
Misty
Thanks Lori, Cyndi, Eileen, Wolfs, & Charlotte for your comments.
Misty – Was blown away at the beauty of how God works. Isn’t He incredible! Thanking Him for His wonderful revelations to you from your dream & how He flows His beauty through broken glass. Can’t tell you how much I appreciate you sharing this. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!
Blessings to you all ~ jen