Operation mend the pot

We had a great visit last night. Sunday we broke a clay pot and gave everyone a piece to write a prayer in. Last night was operation “put it all back together”. Our evening was spent praying and playing. When we broke the pot, we placed it in a bag and threw it on the floor. The pot scattered into a lot of pieces (something the group repeatedly told me). ‘Why didn’t you use a hammer?’

Putting the pot together taught us a lot. A few of our members couldn’t be there last night and it reminded us how crucial each person’s contribution is. Without their pieces we couldn’t complete the mending process. Building a community takes patience and is not a quick result-oriented exercise. Saturday we will celebrate a South African thanksgiving and will continue the rebuilding process.

A few pieces didn’t fit with ease. We had to file and soften some of the edges produced by the scattering. After a lot of fine and delicate work the pieces fitted! A community is an opportunity for people to recalibrate ingrained individualistic tendencies to rhyme with others in a new harmony. This harmonizing is not a smooth process. When I asked Lollie’s parents for her hand in marriage her dad told me that a marriage is like two stones in a river. The stones constantly bump and chafe each other till the edges become smooth – ditto with a community.

Glue is essential in repairing a broken pot. The adhesive must be strong and have the right thickness. Last night we used superglue and a patty. In one of the prayer times one of our members thanked Christ for being the glue in our community. Without Him we will not fit together.

Our evening ended and we did everything we could do without all the pieces. The result was a shabby looking pot. Nothing spectacular or praiseworthy, a perfect picture of a congregation! Sinners journeying with God as the guide. Someone thanked God in the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 12,

So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me