Cracked Pots

A fable

A water bearer in India had two large pots, one hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full potion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house. The cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and half pots full of water in his master’s house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, doing exactly what it was made to do. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of its purpose.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.” “Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?”

“I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half 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 have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from 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 what grows along the path back home.”

As they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on one side of the path. The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the 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’ve watered them.” The bearer smiled. “Without you being the way you are, we wouldn’t have the beauty you see now.”

Your flaws don’t make you unusable or determine your worth. Instead, those broken places are the very things God can use to show His beauty and power in someone else’s life.

Don’t worry about your cracks. God can use them in ways you never dreamed.