My Broken Mug

Jeremiah 18:6 O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does? says the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.

Shattered pieces lay at my feet. My most favorite mug destroyed. I stand at utter dismay as I look at those pieces, those million pieces, that lay broken, unrepairable at my feet. As I try to regain my mental composure, I pick up as many pieces as I can. I will repair this. I must repair this. This is my favorite mug. I put the pieces back together as best I could. Some pieces were actually lost or too small to put back together, so there were gaps. So, I search for products…to fill in the gaps. I so desperately want to use this mug again in it’s original state. It’s my favorite mug and I want it put back together, like it was before. Like it was before...

An avid coffee drinker and purveyor of such, I collect coffee cups. More than cabinets can hold, I continue to purchase unique mugs when I see them. And to add to my brick-a-brac, those who know me often gift me with the same. This now broken mug was one from my children and grandchild.

Just a cup to many, but for the avid coffee lover, a cup of coffee is more of an experience than just a drink. To cup hands around favorite mug filled with the captivating essence of coffee, brings warmth and solace to the soul...well at least to tractor girl’s soul.

I’ve prided myself to be able to drink coffee anytime and in any situation. During my ownership of a stick shift Honda civic, I could drink coffee, change gears and glance at baby in car seat to make sure he was okay…all at the same time, and not drop an ounce of coffee.

So, odd to walk into my greenhouse that one morning with this precious cup, and to break it. And there I stand, looking at this precious thing broken and unusable. Of all the mugs that I have, why did this one have to break?

Anything broken can never be humanly put together and used in it’s original state.

Our broken lives, our broken hearts. We look for super glue and putty to put it back together again...as it originally was. We frustrate in our efforts for no matter how much we try, things broken are never as they originally were.

Jeremiah 18:4 But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.

Could it be that’s the point of it all? Our current lives are not “as he had hoped,” so they must be crushed and started over? Creatures of habit make us want to put things back like they were. As the freed Hebrews longed again for the days of captivity, sometimes it’s a challenge for us to see that the things of old are not to be desired, are not to be remade again, for they are not “as he had hoped.”

Crushing is hard and painful and the entire being becomes almost stagnant as HE starts over with the lump of clay.

And maybe it’s because those things broken are so near and dear to us. Of all the mugs I have, why this one, the one that I loved so dearly? The breaking of some of the others would not have been so bad. But this is a mug I loved...my favorite.

As I continue to walk the preacher in his battle with HS, I see in this place, this familiar place, the desperate need we all have for healing. With physical illnesses, the focus is always on the miracle of the sick place becoming well. Cancer in remission, leaky heart valves repaired, HS lying dormant, blood pressure numbers in control. But healing is dimensional. My prayer for his wellness leads me to pray for my own. For the common thread in all issues, is brokenness.

The road of wisdom is teaching me that brokenness is a part of life. A valuable part of life, for though the afflictions seem unbearable, they are for a more eternal weight and glory. We learn a different side of HIM through brokenness.

The pieces of my mug, my life, lay shattered at HIS feet, and I wonder how will they be repaired. How will it never leak again? This broken mug will never be able to hold coffee, as it once did. It’s original purpose gone, what purpose does it now serve?

My mind reflects to the ultimate sacrifice. The sacrifice of God’s only Son to the cross where He was crushed and broken. The devastation was great. The loss seemed unrepairable.

But, the glory and power of the resurrection has yet been able to be completely embraced. For at HIS ascension, all power was place in our Savior’s hand and dispensed to us to impact the world.

I have since gained many other favorite mugs. I now know the value of keeping things in perspective. And I am ever learning the value of brokenness, for through my afflictions I am learning HIM.