"Earthen Vessels"
(2-25-01, 5-4-01)

As earthen vessels
Day by day
We go on thinking,
"We're just cracked clay."
Faded by time
And broken by life
We are not now
What we were before this strife.

Our costly contents 
Get spilled out
When carelessly
We tarry about.
On the floor
They do fall;
Soon there will be
Nothing left at all.

The craks we have
We try to mend
And to our holes
We must attend.
But through it all
They ever grow
And we can't stop
The ever-flow.

Though with our hearts
And opened eyes
We'll come to see,
To realize,
That despite the cracks
And despite the pain
We will discover
Our Source again.

For through each crack
There shines a light
That pierces the gloom
And the darkest night.
From within it comes
To without it goes
And touches all
With its warm glow.

These gifts of ours
Come from above
To be shared with others
With selfless love.
Without the cracks
There would be
No way to show
Our love for Thee.

So open our hearts
And open our eyes
Help us to see,
To realize,
That as earthen vessels,
Day by day,
We'll know we're more
Than just cracked clay.