The Cracked Bead

Several years ago I decided to take up jewelry making.  Soon I was immersed in a tangle of red, blue, aqua and clear beads. There was wire, pliers, crimp beads, and bead stoppers rolling around all over my kitchen table.

As I began to discover my taste in beaded jewelry, I learned that I liked tone on tone bracelets and necklaces.  I was stringing a necklace of clear beads and then clear quart beads that were fractured inside--cracked beads!  As I was making the necklace--one clear bead, one cracked bead, one clear bead, one cracked bead-- it occurred to me that the cracked bead was me.  I was filled it cracks and fractures though I wished I had no imperfections.

I also discovered something else.  Light went right through the clear bead but the bead with the cracks and fractures reflected brightness back out.  I had always wished I had a clean and perfect life but I was broken and as I exposed my hurts and cracks to the light of Jesus, beauty began to shine out of those flawed places.  God wanted to redeem the damaged and fractured places;  He wanted to bring beauty out of brokenness.

I had to embrace my cracks.  I had to submit them to the light of Jesus. Then beautiful reflections shone out.

Embrace your cracks!

Borrowed Faith

When I was checked into a rehab hospital more than eight weeks ago with torn ligaments in my heels, I never dreamed that I would have three surgeries, six or eight IV atttempts, swallow hundred of pills, spend dozens of hours in the physical therapy gym and cry every night with anxiety as soon as I was alone and the lights were turned off

Each night Jim prayed for me before he left for the evening.  Each night he prayed that I would feel God's peace.  Each night after he went home, the messages of never being well again and  never making it back home would creep in.  I would begin to shake and angst.  And though I prayed and read scripture, I could not sense God's presence.

In the darkness of my room I would text friends (I even called some in the middle of the night) and ask them to go to God for me.  I counted on their faith--I borrowed their faith.  When I couldn't feel God near me, I trusted my friends were experiencing the verse that says,
     "Seek the Lord while he may be found;  call on him while he is near."

Thank you to those who loaned me their faith. I made it through those tough days and nights because of you.