Gifts of Imperfection - Guidepost 3 - Cultivating a Resilient Spirit - Letting Go of Numbing and Powerlessness
Last night at dinner, we had a glass get broken. It happens. We have been noticing that our supply of plates and glasses has slowly decreased over the years. Not just the kids, but we parents have done it as well - something slips, we try to carry too much, etc - and the glass is broken - just like this one in the picture today.
Yesterday I preached on this guidepost in worship - focusing on Ephesians 2:1-10 and 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 speaking of how we have purpose given by God and God gives us the power (although a very different power from what "power" is often defined as) to fulfill that purpose. I went to the passage from 2 Corinthians about the power when Paul talks about how God's extraordinary power is poured into us...who he calls earthen vessels or jars of clay. This happens to show that the power of God is not from us, but from God through Christ.
I find few metaphors more apt to describe me (and I think all of us) better than that. Jars of clay. Fragile earthen vessels that can break just like the glass in this picture. I know it is so easy for me to put up the exterior that I've got it all together, but I don't. There are a lot of areas of my life (internally and externally) that aren't what I would like them to be or aren't what I think others think they should be. Yet, I'm enough. I am a clay jar. An earthen vessel. A beautiful creation by God that was created for a purpose and into whom is poured this extraordinary power. And when we get chipped or feel we are broken, the amazing news is that (unlike this glass), God can take us, restore us, and heal us. Thank you Lord.