Back in the days when pots and pans could talk

I was just listening to Krista Tippett's interview with Kevin Kling. I want to share part of that with you. It's a story he tells called Back in the days when pots and pans could talk:

Back in the days when pots and pans could talk, which indeed they still do, there lived a man. And in order to have water, every day he had to walk down the hill and fill two pots and walk them home. One day, it was discovered one of the pots had a crack, and as time went on, the crack widened. Finally, the pot turned to the man and said, "You know, every day you take me to the river, and by the time you get home, half of the water's leaked out. Please replace me with a better pot." And the man said, "You don't understand. As you spill, you water the wild flowers by the side of the path." And sure enough, on the side of the path where the cracked pot was carried, beautiful flowers grew, while other side was barren. "I think I'll keep you," said the man.

The story is particularly poignant when you know that Mr. Kling "was born with a birth defect — his left arm disabled and much shorter than his right. Then, in his early 40s, a motorcycle accident nearly killed him and paralyzed his healthy right arm." I think he means that we all, in our way, are cracked pots - flawed but, even unknowingly, providing the people in our lives with something that helps them to grow, or even flourish. As I thought about all the people in my life who are my cracked pots, nourishing me . . . well it moved me to tears.