A WONDERFUL JEWEL

The story is told of a king who had a wonderful jewel.  He would gaze on it often.  Wondering at its beauty.

One day, something startled him.  And he dropped the jewel causing it to fall.  As he picked it up from the hard stone floor, the King noticed that the jewel now had a deep crack in it.  He sent messengers out to find a craftsman who could repair it.  But, no one came forward.

Finally after a very long search, he found an old jeweler who said he could repair the jewel.  But that the King would have to promise to give him free reign in his work.

With no other options, the King assented.  The old craftsman set up his workshop and worked continuously for many days.  Finally he emerged and showed the King the jewel.

There in the jewel, the old man had worked the lines of the crack into the pattern of an exquisite flower that appeared deep inside the precious stone.  The King gasped and realized that the crack itself had led to the jewel becoming even more precious.

The moral of the story is that we often feel that we are broken; and that everybody else is better than us.  No one has been created perfect by God for a reason -- so that God can do wonders with our brokenness.  We were created by God uniquely and to make a history.

May this be a blessing!