Saturday, July 07, 2007

Flaws and Cracks

A sweet friend of mine forwarded the following to me and I wanted to share with all of you. My friends. We all need a reminder every now and then that not everything is perfect nor would we want it to be. How else would we learn and grow?


An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots,

each hung on the ends of a pole which she

carried across her neck. One of the pots had

a crack in it while the other pot was perfect

and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walk from the stream

to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half

full.For a full two years this went on daily, with

the woman bringing home only one and a half

pots of water.Of course, the perfect pot was

proud of its accomplishments. But the poor

cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection,

and miserable that it could only do half of what

it had been made to do. After 2 years of what it

perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the

woman one day by the stream."I am ashamed

of myself, because this crack in my side causes

water to leak out all the way back to your house.

"The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there

are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the

other pot's side? That's because I have always known

about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side

of the path, and every day while we walk back, you

water them. For two years I have been able to pick

these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without

you being just the way you are, there would not be

this beauty to grace the house." Remember that each

of us has our own unique flaw which also has its own

blessings. It's the cracks and flaws we each have that

make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.


I love you all, cracks or not.

30 comments:

Kim said...

That is for sure.. How sweet...
We all have flaws no matter what... if we try to be perfect.. it never works..
Who wants to be perfect anyway..
NOT I..
Have a great evening..
Kim

Yoli said...

Thanks for posting it, it is food for the soul.

kerri said...

How did you know I was a crack pot.
Nice post, reminds us that our flaws are beautiful and makes us who we are unique.

kitchu said...

So the moral of this story is that my CELLULITE is also a BLESSING? I'm not seeing it so much.

(In all seriousness, I love the moral...)

shelley said...

Thanks....we love you and your cracks too??? LOL. Thanks for reminding us that it would be a terrible place if we all weren't different in our own way.

Two Kayaks said...

Totally reading this to my grade 12 students on the first day of school in September! Thanks!

Elizabeth said...

Thanks so much that is a very thought provoking story and I will ponder it more throughout my day.
PS I love your crack too.

Anonymous said...

This has nothing to do with your post (although I love it....) But I have a question for you! Do you like your double Peg Perego stroller? We have just received a referral for twins(!!!!) and need to buy a double stroller! Thanks so much!

insanemommy said...

Catherine, I would have e-mailed you privately however I don't have your e-mail and it says noreply. But, in response to your question regarding the "Peg" no I do not like it. Too wide and the visor does not shield the girls from the sun. I would look into a jogger or something a little lighter.

Now, about those twins. Let's hear the details!!!

Jewels of My Heart said...

I love that story... it reminds me that there is hope for me.... Jesus can use me just as I am...

mommy24treasures said...

love it. thanks

Sophie's Mom said...

Great story! I am cracka-licious!

redmaryjanes said...

I love that. So it's ok that I'm a crackpot.

Jeff and Valerie said...

Very sweet! Thanks for sharing.

Diana said...

We are all cracked in some way and this wonderful story validates our uniqueness. I am going to read this story to my Kindergarten class on the first day of school and then I am going to have them write a report on how this applies to them! hahahahah (I crack myself up).

Dianne said...

Thanks for sharing, that's been a favorite of mine. We make the best with what we have and marvelous things can happen.
Hugs to your girls,
Dianne

JinXiu said...

Rony

I loved the post

what a great story. I was having a weird day and this really helped. Thanks for posting it.

take care

Staci A. Jospey

Home Page:http://jinxiuofxuwen.blogspot.com/
Click here: Jin Xiu's Journey
Click here: Jin Xiu of XuWen

"M2" said...

so you're saying that there is purpose for my fat thighs??

Good

Pixel Fairy Princess said...

I love this --- I have it from when we were paperchasing, thanks for reminding me of it. We all need that every once in a while :D

Cindy from central NC said...

Does that mean that even though I'm a crack-pot for keeping you on the phone for 3 hours (!!), you're okay with it?!!

(I can't believe I did that.....) :)

3 Peanuts said...

Oh, I needed to hear this today. I am feeling my cracks a lot lately.

Kim

Nikki said...

What a sweet story. I am a fan of cracks and flaws -- and God knows I'm full of both of them.

RamblingMother said...

I have always liked that proverb/story. When will you return to the regularly scheduled program of very entertaining twin stories complete with pics though?

Me

crazylady said...

Thanks for loving this crackjob.
Right back at cha.

mexican chopsticks said...

Beautiful! I love it!!

Thanks for posting it!

Sophie's Mom said...

Come on... I need a fix... You haven't posted since Saturday... It's Wednesday...

Cindy from central NC said...

Hi Rony. You out there? :) Finally I get a chance to say that! It's typical for me to "go under" for days and days but not you!! :)
-cin

Sophie's Mom said...

Did Ron stop by? Hmmmmm????

cougchick said...

are you smokin crack? Ha!

me = crackpot. forsure.

Jen said...

I love this one. It is so very true.