Tiny Little Pieces

SCRIPTURE: 2 Cor. 4:7-10NIV But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

THOUGHT: I took on the challenge this week of rebuilding the beautiful but shattered little teapot that was my Moms when she was a child. It is so small, maybe 2- by 3-inches, and just a pile of broken pieces in a baggie. It hurt to even look at and I wondered if it was worth saving. What will it look like with glue lines crisscrossing that exquisite hand-painted porcelain exterior, I wondered, disconsolately? It certainly won’t hold liquid, and likely won’t impress some dear little girl someday.

But as I’ve worked, matching pieces by trial and error, dealing with superglued fingers and tiny chips and jagged edges, I’ve just let the little pot teach me a gospel lesson.

Things (and people) aren’t worth saving because they can be perfected. They are worth saving because they have meaning and purpose – even if it’s not the purpose we would assign them. I always somehow think that complete healing is the ultimate goal for my earthly life, and I’ll know it when I get there. But Paul said we’re like fragile clay pots – not so God (or we) can taunt us contemptuously about not holding water properly, but because God’s power can flow better through our weaknesses.

PRAYER: I may not look like much compared to the perfect teapot, Lord, but you saw fit to rescue, redeem and rebuild me for your own purposes. Help me flow with your power, revealing the treasure you’ve put inside.