Broken But Fixable



Too Broken To Fix?
Jeremiah 18:3-4
 Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to

When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. -Helen Keller-(1880-1968)

I visited a church the other evening and listened to a pastor's wife make beautiful, inspiring music on a Baby Grand piano. I remember thinking the piano sounded and looked so good. After she finished playing, she told this moving story about the instrument.

The piano was old and useless, and the owner decided to send it to the dump. While waiting for someone to haul it away, the instrument was shoved into corners, kicked around and scratched and marred. In an attempt to make it take up less room in the truck, someone took an axe and chopped away on one leg. By God's design, attempts to cut of the piano legs were not successful, and the axe was put aside.  Now the wood was not only scratched, but there were deep scars in the failed attempt to cut the old piano in pieces.

Before the instrument could be taken away, a lady came by and recognized value. She decided she would take it home with her, restore it to it's original beauty and sell it.
Her restoration project took quite a long time, as she polished and cleaned and stained and varnished. The big axe marks on the leg was the challenge, but she worked on those gashes by drawing them out with wet, warm compresses. After a period of time, the broken piece became an impressive work of art.

Now it was time to sell it. However, it didn't quite work out that way. A congregation of believers were in need of a piano. When one of the members came to inquire about that one, she donated it to be used for everyone who would come inside the sanctuary and listen to the pastor's wife play beautiful music.

Years ago, a person who is very dear to me, decided there was no reason to live. Past failures had inflicted this life with severe injury, leaving a feeling of failure and hopelessness. Just in time, the potter stepped in and began a transformation and a new way of thinking. God's work changed a life from despondency to a testimony to God's changing grace.

Being changed by God is the neatest, and really very simple process. Just believe that He can and will, and allow yourself to be forgiven and lifted from the scars of the past, into His new and perfect plan that He has for each of us.

.....so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make