“For I Know the plans I have for you”,declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 29:11
There was once a water bearer who carried two large pots, each of which hung on either end of a pole he carried across his neck.
One of the pots had a crack in it, and so, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot always arrived only half full.
This went on every day for two years, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master’s house after each trip.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, the cracked pot spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream and said, “I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you”.
The bearer asked, “Why? What are you ashamed of?”
The pot replied, “In the past two years, I was able to deliver only half of my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws, you don’t get full value for your efforts”.
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion, he said, “As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.”
As they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it somewhat. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again, it apologized to the bearer for its failure.
The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you have unknowingly been watering them and making the walk to the stream this beautiful. And it’s all because you are just the way you are.”
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I came across this story at a time in life when I often felt like the broken pot, that my flaws were holding me back and that I was failing to live up to my full potential.
When we try to make sense of life and plan ahead, we forget that God has already up the blueprint of our lives and sees the bigger picture – not of who we are, but who we can be.
Now, I realize that while I have too many flaws to be perfect, I’m perfectly imperfect enough for a purpose far greater than what I ever thought I was meant for.
I still don’t know where I’m going, when or how I’ll get there, but I choose to live every moment with a renewed passion and as I persevere towards, not my purpose, but His purpose for me.
God’s plan is more than just a Drake song – it’s the soundtrack of my life.
Written by Liz Joseph, a young, energetic and creative person in Christ!
Faith. Hope. Love. Movement 