The Cracked Pot

A Story Remembered

 

 

Somewhere in time, when I was a younger person, I heard a parable.  I don’t know who to give the credit for the story to and this is not a word for word adaptation, but I still like the essence of the story.  This week I needed a reminder that God can use imperfect vessels.  That’s when this story came to my mind. Of course, this is a work of fiction, but I think the point is good.

In a small village, a woman had two pots that she used to bring water from the river to the house.  One pot was strong, the other was cracked.  Every day, she would take her pots to the river and fill them up with water.  When she arrived back home, the one pot was full, the other half empty. It had drizzled and dripped its water all the way from the river to the house.

The cracked pot felt like a failure.  It didn’t help that the other pot felt proud.  Each day its leaks seemed to get worse.  Just when it felt it was time to give up and just fall apart, the woman said to a friend.  Look at the flowers growing along the path.  I so enjoy their beauty and their fragrance as I walk each day.  These flowers grow and bloom because the crack in my pot waters them as I walk.

Hearing this, the cracked pot cheered up.  It did have a purpose.  Its purpose was to bring beauty to the woman’s daily walk, by watering the flowers along the way.

Jeremiah 29:11King James Version (KJV)

¹¹ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Sometimes, even when I feel like I’m a “cracked pot”.  God still has a purpose and a plan for me.