Susan LaffertyShe’s a walking picture of brokenness.
For more than eighteen years, this daughter of Abraham suffers a spiritual disabling of her physical body. She moves through life unable to straighten up at all. Bent over, face to the ground. Seeing dirt. Rocks. Feet.
Eighteen years of facing dirt, rocks, and feet—wherever she goes.
The simple Indonesian rice bowl broke.
It was a “free with purchase of dish detergent” blue and white china bowl. So common and ordinary. A reminder of my childhood.
But it slipped from my hands, hit the marble countertop in our Delhi flat and broke in two. The last straw in a long day, week, month…year.
And I broke.
Ordinary, simple vessel on the floor in pieces.
The words stopped short of my lips. Almost there. Almost uttered into the air. But held back. I knew they were the most important words in the world. Simple. Direct truth. The gospel.
But I hesitated. And blamed shyness. Blamed my inadequacy to express it correctly. No matter how many times I memorized Bible verses and methods of explaining the good news, it never seemed to come out right. What if my stumbling attempt to share the gospel hit someone the wrong way and turned them away from seeking Jesus?