This is it. I’ve found my “forever”. I remember beaming with delight at the sight of that oven baked clay kitchen set. The mottled-orange shade of pottery was as vibrant as my future ahead. This was more than just a beautifully crafted work of art. It was molded to last me a lifetime, cooking delicious dishes and holding treasured memories and comfort. It was to be as promising as my future marriage.
CRACK!
Just one year later, the only thing that mottled my first broken plate were my tears of disillusion. Tears that smeared my great expectations.
It started with that first plate.
And then..
One cup.
One bowl.
CLANK.
CRASH.
SMASH.
Until nothing was left of neither that pottery set nor my marriage. 25 years, gone. It would have been 40 years this month.
I wanted the very earth that had given me my beautiful clay pottery of dreams to swallow me whole. Life was hopeless.
From my native South Africa, to the Florida Keys, those 25 years had taken my family and I a long way from home. We were too worn to weather the hurricane that would come our way, nearly taking our new, American home with it.
But it wasn’t the hurricane that took our home.
It was the divorce that followed.
As with any hurricane in real life, a massive, daunting clean-up is always in order. Our divorce had also made a mess of me. And so, I began to clean up the broken pieces of my life. I met a wonderful man who would become my husband – forever? We started a new life together, built our dream mountain home only to sell it. Amidst it all, I lost my father, my sweet Pappie. In this bittersweetness of change, I consciously made a decision to return to building a relationship with Jesus.
I had done away with the broken pieces of “forever” and made peace with “whatever”.
But God is not the God of “whatever.”
He’s the God of “However…”.
“No, your exquisite pottery set did not last as it was expected to.
HOWEVER, I, God, provide you with all the good things you need.
No, your covenant in marriage did not last as it was supposed to.
HOWEVER, My covenant with you lasts forever.
No, your life isn’t unfolding the way you think it was meant to.
HOWEVER, I am the Potter that takes cracked lives and remolds them for greater, richer purpose.
And I will reshape you with purpose and promise.”
I have since then left behind the false peace of “whatever” for a life of “Forever” Hope with God. What a journey it is! Miracles! Cannot wait to share more! The stories abound!
What would your life look like if you gave the broken pieces to the Potter to remold your life’s purpose?
Perhaps you’ve settled for “whatever”. Perhaps the hurricane of life has made more of a mess than you can fathom to clean up.
However,
Your life story has a “forever”. And it’s one worth discovering.
