Cracked Lives (or Illustrating Priorities, part 2)

In yesterday’s post, “Illustrating Priorities”... (you might want to read that first. I’ll wait…

… I described an illustration that I used to show how we sometimes get our priorities all messed up. Using a glass jar, shells and salt, I showed how we put some things (doing bills, watching TV, jogging, etc) ahead of the things that we SAY are important (worshiping God, Bible study, prayer, family, etc).

(Cue old soap-opera organ music and whispering announcer:) “When we last left Pastor Valerie, she was holding up the perfect illustration of well ordered priorities, the glass jar filled with all the shells and all the salt, and room to spare.” (Cue ominous music: duh, duh, dummm…)

So there I was, allowing the perfect illustration to soak in and then begin discussing it with the group. I tilted the jar a bit and salt began to stream out from the jar onto the table below. I looked at the top and the salt was not spilling over the lip of the jar. For a moment I was baffled, and then I heard giggles and then laughter as I turned the jar around and saw a small hole where the salt was pouring out. Something had obviously cracked the thin layer of glass there and now there was a hole this size of a dime. The vase/life was broken. “That’s life! Sometimes we get broken” I smirked. The faux pas brought up a real point in addition to the intended and original point.

Even when we are trying to follow Christ and put God first in all things, sometimes our lives get cracked. Sometimes the “things” we have in our lives pour out uncontrollably and cause a mess. But no matter how much loss, pain, suffering, or despair we face, God remains inside us, with us at all times. (“Remain in me and I will remain in you.” John 15:4). Now, I couldn’t repair that cracked vase but God can take cracked lives and re-create them into new lives (“Behold I make all things new.” Rev 21:5).

So on my way into my office to write this piece, I was carrying a box with the remnants of the study decorations (grass skirts, fishing nets, shells..) that we used for “Cast Away.” I was busy in thought about the symbolism of the cracked vase. In the blink of an eye the box of shells crashed to the floor. Broken: the delicate ones I found in Galveston on a family vacation. Broken: the colorful ones from a Mexican beach. Broken: that special sea urchin shell (that came from my grandmother’s store) that I’ve had since I was 16. Broken and a mess.

Upon reflection I thought about the brokenness that we fear. What if I lost everything? My home, my car, my family, my piano, my friends… things that were far beyond my ability to “fix”? How could I cope? My only answer is that I couldn’t. That is, I alone wouldn’t be able to cope. “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” -1 Cor 15:57. Lent is a time to remember that Christ gave His all for us and paid our debt of sin, so that we will have eternal life. Victory over death. Victory over all the cracks and holes that mar our “perfect” lives. He knows our sorrows and will never leave us to deal with them alone. He is ever present and loves us without pause or fail. Take time to give thanks to God for His ever present and renewing Spirit.