I'm cracked!

This week's memory verse:
"But he said to me,'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." - 2 Corinthians 12:9

I have many weaknesses...I get frustrated with them and myself...wishing I could do better, be better...but maybe that's just the point. I CAN'T be or do better on my own! This fact keeps me humble. No matter how much weight I lose, how many compliments I get for the songs that I sing, no matter how good of a librarian or teacher or storyteller I am...those weaknesses make me NOT PERFECT...THANK GOD!

God calls those who are weak, foolish, lowly, despised...he USES us to show his glory THROUGH us! I love the next verses...read them for yourself.

2 Corinthians 4:6-7

The picture I get in my mind of a clay pot...that's me. Made of good sturdy materials and pretty functional, even if it's not real fancy and beautiful. The wonderful part of that clay pot...it's CRACKED! As a matter of fact, it has several cracks all over the place...not enough to keep it from being functional, but enough to see that it has been well used. When it is sitting on a counter and the sun shines on it...you can see light shining through the cracks.

THAT is why I should be thankful for my weaknesses...and be encouraged that I even CARE about them! I have the knowledge of God's glory inside me and when I talk about my weaknesses and don't hide them, God's light shines through them...through my cracks! At least I am aware I am cracked...I want God's light to POUR out of my cracks...knowing that one day, one fine blessed day, my cracks will be repaired and I will be made whole! I have FAITH that that will happen one day...believing in something I CAN'T see because of what I CAN see around me...light coming from the other CRACKED people around me!

Are you cracked, like me? Don't try to hide your cracks...don't let those cracks keep you from living the life God has planned for you! He knows you have weaknesses and are cracked, but he loves you so much that he will use those weaknesses to further his purposes on earth and one day, he will fix your cracks too!