YOUR CRACKS ARE YOUR BEAUTY
by Mercy Karumba
“A story is told of an elderly woman who carried two pots on the edge of a pole, which she carried across her neck as she went to fetch water from the river each day. One of the pots had a crack while the other one perfect. By the time she got home, the cracked pot had delivered only half of the water, while the perfect one arrived full of water. This went on for two full years, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.
The full pot was proud of its accomplishments while the cracked pot felt ashamed and worthless. One day, the cracked pot spoke to the woman, feeling very ashamed, “I am really ashamed of myself because the crack on my side, only makes me deliver half the water, I should carry.”
The woman felt very sorry for the cracked pot but smiled and responded, “tomorrow as I go to fetch the water, I want you to be more keen on the path as we move.”
The next day, as the woman walked home from the river, carrying the two pots, the cracked pot, was keen not to look inside himself but instead looked outside. That’s when it noticed that there were flowers on his side of the path, but not the side of the perfect pot.
As the woman reached home, she spoke to the cracked pot and said,” Did you notice the beautiful flowers on the path? They are only on your side of the path. I have always known about your crack and I took advantage of it to water the flowers, and for two years I have been picking beautiful flowers. Without you being the way you are, the path would not have this BEAUTY.”
What is beauty? Is inner beauty better than outer beauty? Would you call yourself beautiful? Or do we say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder?
Many of us identify with the cracked pot? We have so many cracks and imperfections that at times make us feel worthless – be it the physical scars, the emotional scars, weaknesses in some skills and abilities, name it. But just like the cracked pot – have we taken time to stop looking at our internal weaknesses and cracks and instead look outside, to identify the BEAUTY caused by our CRACKS.
Have your emotional scars, made you a better person? Have you been able to encourage others from your experiences? That’s beautiful.
Are you weak in science but particularly excellent in art and creativity? That’s the BEAUTY of unique gifts and talents.
Do you think that you are the black sheep in your family, simply because you are different? That’s the BEAUTY of diversity.
In Psalms 139 verses 13 and 14, David acknowledges, “for it was You who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I will praise You because I have been fearfully and wonderfully made.” No matter our weaknesses and cracks, we were fearfully and wonderfully knitted in our mother’s womb, that in itself is a reminder that our CRACKS are our BEAUTY.