Confession #12 - No Mater what - I am wonderfully made.

In a previous post - Confession #8 to be exact - I mentioned that I'm a huge Disney fan.  I couldn't possibly pick a favorite movie, but I happen to be quite fond of Cars.  My favorite, like so many of us is Tow-Mater.  It's not his charm and humor that resonate with me but it's the fact that Mater loves all of his dents and flaws.  Each one holds an important memory to him.  He is proud of them.  Oh how I would love to embrace all my flaws and be happy to have them; every last wobbly-bit of my flawed body, heart, and soul. 

Not too long ago a friend of mine who has been encouraging me to eat healthier, said something to me about loosing weight that put my self esteem out of whack.  It actually depressed me.  So I had this long conversation with God about it and then I opened my bible with the intention of thumbing through it until I found where I felt God was leading me, but the very page I landed on this verse was highlighted.  Psalm 27:1 "The LORD is my light and salvation of who shall I fear?  The LORD is the stronghold of my life - of who shall I be afraid?"  The more interesting thing about this verse that drew my attention wasn't just that it was highlighted in pink, but years before I had wrote in the margin with an arrow pointed straight to it, "My self esteem".  It still amazes me everyday how God works!  He knew that I needed scripture without any doubt to reassure me that my self-worth is in HIM, not me, not what I do, not what I say, not even what I think, but what HE thinks of me.  God reminds us all of our worth through his word.  In Psalm 139:13-16 King David says that God, "For you (God) created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."  This woman who judges, sometimes so harshly, her wobbly bits is reminded that God created her, He took His precious time to form me inch by inch.  He wove together, my body, my mind, my spirit, and my personality.  Since I believe that everything God creates is wonderful and I am one of His creations, then God must see me as wonderful too!  Even with all my flaws.  God sees how wonderful His creation is in you - in spite of your flaws.

The cracked pot story illustrates perfectly how we can appreciate and be proud of our flaws:

 A water bearer in India has two large pots each hung on the end of a pole, which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it. The other pot was perfect.  While the perfect pot always delivered a full portion of water at the end of a long walk from the stream to the master's hours, the cracked pot arrived only half full.   For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made.  But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.   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 water bearer "What are you ashamed of?"   Very sadly the cracked pot replied, "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 do all of this work and 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 master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."   Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some.  But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.   The bearer said to the pot.   "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pots 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 walked back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

The lesson of course here is to embrace your cracks - your flaws because God uses them to allow his glory to shine through.  He can use us no Mater, uh, matter what our flaws may be.  We just have to be willing to embrace them and submit to His will.

"Dear Lord help me to embrace all my dents, and cracks knowing that I earned these with the precious life you have given me.  Let me not forget your wonderful works and that I too am one of them.  Let your light shine through each crack to bring people to the saving grace of your son Jesus Christ.  And dear Lord let my fellow cracked pots see the same beauty in their precious flaws and to know that they know that they know that you created them wonderfully."  AMEN!