I’ve been sitting here in the quiet for awhile meditating on these two tea cups that I have made into candle holders. The unique thing about them is that they were made in the 60s in Japan and they are not exactly alike. Most things we buy today are factory made and are identical. I’m not sure if these were fashioned by hand but I know they were at the very least painted by hand. I love to note the differences between the two vessels. Besides being slightly larger, one is more translucent and the candle light glows inside it. The other that is more opaque does not radiate the same feeling since I can only see the light coming through the top. The painted gold rim is wider making it shimmer more.

I received these cups in the mail and they had been inadequately packed and were crushed. These cups had been a pile of shards and crumbs when I got them. I carefully pulled the pieces out and sorted them. I worked through the rubble like I would work at a puzzle. I was overjoyed when I found pieces that fit together. Then I glued them together, trying my hardest not to glue my fingers to the project. Then, what seemed like a hopeless tragedy, became a thing of beauty. Many of the pieces were crushed beyond recognition but that did not keep me from completing my task. No, the places where there are missing pieces and cracks are the places that allow light to flicker through, adding even more to how very unique they are. The two cups were not broken in the same way and one is more “complete” than the other but they both started out broken and they both shine the light in their broken places.

How ashamed we are of our broken places!

We try our best to stop up the hole and hide where we have been crushed and pieced together. We slap on a new coat of paint and hope no one sees the scars. We forget that we were born into a broken world and we all have been crushed (some of us more than others.) Some of our cracks are bigger and some of us have things that will all be missing because those pieces have been crushed beyond recognition.

Our Lord wants to take the time to put us back together, if we would only allow him to work on us. But we do not want to be still long enough to let him. Our lives are so full of distractions or we have figured out our own way to “fix” ourselves. Maybe if we go to the gym more or read the right book or get a new job or even a new spouse, then things will be better… maybe then I will be better. Our own messed up thinking is what got us here in the first place but we think we know the best way out. We fail to submit to the one who designed us in the first place. Who knows us better than him?

All we need to do is place his light inside. Every day light the flame. God is constant. His flame will not change and he wants to use those broken places to shine light on others. So if you have a gaping hole, just give up trying to hide it. Put the light of Christ inside and let it shine!