Cracked Vases

I remember seeing this vase at someone's house

it was strong, and clean

it held flowers and some branches

and was very beautiful

They told me

"It was broken a long time ago,

but we glued it back together and look at it now."

So finally I know that

I, too, am strong and clean, and very beautiful

that I can hold my life,

that the branches in my water

can take root and grow.

The hammer broke me, once,

but now I am stronger at the broken places. ~ a survivor

I found this anonymous poem on a website while doing some topical research for a friend. One area I am very passionate about (due to my own life experiences thus far, and having testament to how God has brought me through it all) is teaching women how to live fulfilling lives, knowing and believing that they are of worth, no matter what may come at them in life, because they are daughters of the King. I loved the sentiment of strength, perseverance and hope that this poem offered.

As Christian women, we can struggle with our “Mary and Martha” roles in life, trying to juggle those and find our niche. We struggle with taking Proverbs 31 and trying to be the greatest of achievers. We struggle with how God made us; sensitive, nurturing, longing to be taken care of and provided for, multi-taskers to the n’th degree!

We carry around a lot of pain sometimes….at times, we don’t even realize we are carrying it. We tend to cling to our illusion of control. We tend to keep our focus on others, and forgetting to start each day with a long gaze into the mirror.

Yes, it is part of our commission and lot to sow into the lives of others. And, to a woman, “others” seems to have no end….it’s husbands, children, siblings, co-workers, extended family, the kid from down the street who wants to stay the night, the friend who takes, takes, takes. We are giving so much of ourselves EVERY SINGLE DAY. But, what are we giving?
What are you harboring, and pouring out to others? Anger and bitterness over past hurts. Depression. A mutilated self-esteem. Apathy. Insecurity. That ever-infecting “control freak” factor.

Yes, we have the love of God in us, and we hope that we are pouring that out. But, if you were truly honest with yourself right now…what are you pouring out?

I venture to say, there are lots of cracked vases walking around out there, waiting to be glued back together, to feel the strength and stability of that glue. We look at ourselves and see the broken pieces lying all around, visuals of what the hammer has done to our lives. Internally, we are screaming, crying, longing for the healing and restoration of that glue to put us back together, to make that vision, of what we know we can become, a reality!

We can start to feel hopeless, weary and defeated. In Luke 10:38-42, there is the account of the infamous “Mary and Martha” role definitions. Martha is working away, and asks the Lord “shouldn’t my sister be helping me?”. All the while, Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening.

Sisters, take time to pause for that gaze into the mirror this week. If you find that what you are full with and are pouring out is not fruitful, stop all the Martha’ing, and put yourself at the feet of Jesus. God is not the God of exhaustion, weakness, discouragement and despair. He is the God of perseverance, strength, encouragement and hope! He longs to meet you right where you are at in life, take you on the journey of restoration and healing , joy and hope. Do not take this sentence lightly: NO MATTER WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TABLE, nothing is to big to be conquered in Christ.

Whether you are a new Christian who is struggling with letting go of an old lifestyle, or a mature Christian who is tired…there is always a time to stop at the feet of Jesus and beg for restoration. If now is your time, don’t hesitate to heed his promptings.

If you are doing okay, ask God to show you to whom, and how, to be an encouragement to someone down this week. You may never know how your smallest acts will brighten and encourage even a complete stranger, or a dear friend. Walk with Him daily, giving Him your thoughts, your words and your actions, imploring to Him that it be His light that you illuminate.

Burnt Meat

How many of us love our Mother’s cooking?! You can think of that special dessert she makes, that entrée that is to die for, the cookie that you crave…Most of us have those memories, and when we think back, our mouths water!

As I sat eating my lunch today, I just began to think about my love for cooking and how my Mom and Grandma both instilled this in me, and gave me much direction. I so appreciate that, but there was an even greater insight into this walk down memory lane. As I sat chewing on a piece of egg roll I had burnt in the cooking process, I began to realize what I’ve been learning as I’ve grown older and more observant.

As soon as the word “Amen” was said at the end of our meal time prayer, it was a free for all for the food. Everyone wanted the biggest piece of chicken, the first mound of mashed potatoes or the hottest rolls. Mom never participated in this dive for the “best” of the serving platter. She always waited, many times served and her plate was continually filled last. Not only was she the last to get her food, but she always had the burnt pieces, the fatty pieces, the smallest pieces. And, never once complained. I didn’t realize it then, but she just took away the undesirable burnt char or cut away the fatty hunk, and enjoyed it as the same as what the rest of us were eating. What we saw as the less desirable, Mom realized was all the same…it just needed a bit of TLC.

That’s exactly how God works!!! Not only does He provide for His children; that’s an awesome truth we can take comfort in. BUT, He never sees any of us as undesirable and too burnt to pay attention to. He can take the most charred heart there is, peel away the layers of ugliness and despair, and make something nourishing and tasteful. He not only can, He longs to!!

If you’re in a place where you don’t fully embrace and believe this, pray for a heart that will and does. If you already walk in this truth about how God has restored you, pray for a heart and vision that sees the charred hearts walking around in this world, that you can have the same love and desire to help them peel away the things that are covering up what God intended for them to be! It’s easy to love the “loveable”. It is my plea this week, dear sisters, that we beg God for hearts that truly love the “unloveable”…the ones that the world discards to the side, has no use for…over and over again, God has proven that these discards are the ones whom He can use most mightily!! May we all be willing to be vessels to share this Light with others!

2 Corinthians 5:17

Ephesians 2:10

Colossians 1:16

Thy Word Have I Hid in My Heart

"The greatest proof of Christianity for others is not how far a man can logically analyze his reasons for believing, but how far in practice he will stake his life on his belief." -T.S. Eliot
James 1:22-25

22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

Dear sisters…this is a challenge to us! We all know a lot of scriptures, we know what we are to be doing, yet…we sit in fear, in comfort zones, in time constraints. Those things are not of God! They are conquerable through God! He is the provider of strength and boldness to overcome fear. He is the provider of courage to step out of your comfort zone. He is the captain who has set out the course for your life, allowing the exact amount of time for each situation you encounter and endure. Our imperfection is what gets in the way.

We aren’t just striving for more treasures in heaven, nor for the blessings promised at the end of verse 25; No, we are striving for far beyond that!! We are striving to serve and GLORIFY the God who has saved us from sin, from ourselves, from darkness.

Make it a personal challenge to yourselves throughout this weekend and next week to memorize an instruction in scripture, and to pray over it, how you can more fully carry out that instruction in life to glorify God and to reach the lost around you! He has promised that if we ask, it will be given to us. If we seek, we shall find. If we knock, that door will be opened. Dare to take Him at His Word, dare to ask for His guidance to be given to you, and to be used in and through you into the lives of others throughout this next week. You will be amazed at what WILL happen with a willing heart and feet that actually walk forward!! And, if that scares you to death…pray for a heart that will not rest until it has this very desire!!