Flaws or blessings in disguise

Many of us are running around trying our best to be perfect. We beat ourselves up for the many “flaws” that we see in ourselves. And, we interact with others seeing their flaws and not their contributions to life. We do it with some of the most important people in our lives … our family. Instead of looking at what is wrong in relationships we probably should be looking at what is positive … the good in the other person. Instead of playing the game, “My life should be better …” we should simply accept the other people in our lives as a blessing from God. God placed them there for a purpose … a significant purpose … that we just might miss if we constraint on the flaws. It is easy to find fault it is much harder to say, “I love you flaws and all and I thank God each day for placing you in my life.” Offering that prayer will ultimately change the relationship to the point that those flaws just might be able to be used wisely to create something beautiful along the paths we have to travel.

To that end I offer this modern day parable:

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole, which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.
But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.” The old woman smiled, “'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?” “That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.”
“For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.”

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

So, to all of my cracked pot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!

Quote for today: Think about the oyster. It takes a grain of sand and turns it into a beautiful pearl. Too often we are just the opposite--we take pearls and turn them into grains of sand. Source Unknown