Broken Vessels

My Bible study kicked off the new year yesterday with a little illustration. I had read this story http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/2008/05/past-and-pitcher.html which led to the idea for our own broken pitchers.

Look at these pitchers. Aren't they lovely, all whole and perfect, the way God created us to be. But after the Fall in the Garden of Eden, sin entered the world and now we are broken, but not without hope. Because God wants to put us back together, and even in our imperfections, our weaknesses, our failures, He pieces us back together into vessels He can use and pour Himself out of.

That was the idea to focus on as the five of us gathered at my house yesterday. We started by listening to the song The Potter's Hand, and then I read the story I linked above to them. We then wrote on little slips of paper the things in our lives that have broken us and put them in those perfect pitchers.

Then...we smashed them.

And then, God helped us put them back together.

It was cathartic and cleansing and my now imperfect vessel, which sits on a shelf in my family room, is a visual reminder of who I am in Christ. Broken, yet mended and being used by the One who loves me so.

Yet, Lord, You are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8













We have two crafty girls in our group...Holly and me. We got ours put together by OCDing and not leaving the table until we had something standing. The other three girls got the verse part put back together and decided that another illustration of this exercise was that, although they cannot put the broken pieces of their selves back together, God can. It works both ways...give it a try.