This used to be part of a good-sized clay pot, just an ordinary reddish colored pot that was purchased from a discount store.  As guest speaker Dr. Michael Bischof explained in his message “Empowering Leaders in Wholeness,” a pot is a vessel or a container that usually carries soil and some type of plant.  Similarly, we are like a clay pot as God fills us up with all sorts of gifts and talents and experiences—for the sole purpose of growing others by sharing God’s light with them.  We happily hold all that God gives us.  All is good, right?  But then trouble and hard times unexpectedly hit us from all sides, just like Dr. Bischof surprised us by smashing the clay pot with a large, heavy hammer.  With each blow, we could see how it resembled our lives—cracking, breaking, and even shattering.  As we deal with stress, busyness, and setbacks, we feel broken.  We develop sharp sides that hurt, and when we encounter someone else who is broken, we experience frustration and irritation as two separate fragments rubbing roughly against each other.

So what are we to do?  We can remind ourselves that none of us is perfect, and that we’ve all been formed by God to be part of something bigger.  As leaders (in the home, at work, in school clubs, at church), we can allow each other some slack and be more understanding or have a listening ear.

In addition, we can also try to stop what Dr. Bischof described so well as “Hurry Sickness”:

• Do you search for the shortest line at the grocery store?
• Do you try to guess which line will be faster, based on which checker looks young and fast, or which customer will use a dreaded checkbook and slow everything down?
• Do you track your progress by keeping track of where you would’ve been in the other line?
• Do you feel like you won the race if you chose the right line and got to the front first?
• Or do you feel upset if the other line ended up being faster?

Sounds all too familiar?  So maybe we can try letting someone else go first, or not have a fit if someone cuts us off.  We’re not clay pots that are new and intact, but as broken, fragmented pieces, we can still shine God’s light in dark places.

For more information about Dr. Bischof, you can visit his website at souleader.org.