We joke that everyone is a little cracked! 

But some fractures go deep and damage the soul.  Right now, the mental health of many people – both young and old, is being damaged by the isolation of the Covid pandemic.  Events in life can be like a hammer that hits us and creates cracks – things like betrayal can leave bitterness and unforgiveness; grief can plunge us into despair, and goals and plans frustrated can leave resentment and apathy.    Who has gone through life without experiencing any of its hammer taps?

Have you heard of Kin-tsu-kuroi?  It’s the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with costly gold or silver, making it more beautiful and of greater worth than before.  It is a picture of how God pours His Holy Spirit into our lives, and puts us back together again, making our souls more beautiful than before.

It’s also a picture of how we can all pour love and care and acceptance into the lives of those around us, making them more beautiful. No matter how cracked or broken their lives, we can show they are of immense value.

It’s all there in Luke 6: 27 – 38.  The passage ends with a promise that “the measure with which you measure out will be used to measure back to you!’  Even with ‘difficult’ people it’s a win-win!

 

Louise Morse

Louise Morse MA (CBT) is media and external relations manager for the Pilgrims’ Friend Society. She is a writer and speaker, and author of books on issues of old age, including dementia, published by Lion Monarch and SPCK. She is a cognitive behavioural therapist, and her Masters’ dissertation examined the effects of caring for a loved one with dementia on close relatives.

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