It was my first trip out from my new abode in Pinehurst, a rest home in Porthcawl.
Such a treat for me to make my way independently,
apart from the help, of course of my reliable walker, to the end of our
street to the Promenade, only to find not only that the Lord was with me
but had gone before me, for there on the pavement was a china effigy of
Snoopy.
But why was he special?
Why, there was something that immediately caught my
attention, for this one seemed to be carefully adorned with numerous cracks,
all high lighted in gold.
the damage is almost impossible to be noticed. It is called Kitsungi, where they enhance the breaks, not just by repairing them so that they are almost impossible to discern, but by outlining the breakages in gold.
Snoopy here is gracefully covered in delicate gold
tracery. I was aware of the story because of a programme on the Bible network
where Patrick Regan and his wife are developing a ministry which they call
Kitsungi Hope. On the programme I had happened upon he was interviewing a young
man who has been greatly used by God in developing the work of Street Pastors,
But what connection could this successful young man have with broken pottery?
Why should I have been surprised to hear of the pain
that had been involved as he found himself broken and separated from the
fellowship in which he had thought he was so secure but had eventually led to
his leading a much wider ministry.
Much interest is aroused by this and many other
Snoopies placed around Porthcawl, part of a treasure trail to raise money for a
safe doggy path for our well- loved pooches, but as I met a young woman,
alone as I was, I felt I had to share the true meaning of Kitsungi and I know
it meant more than just Kitsungi but Kitsungi Hope to someone who needed her
pain to be turned to a ministry of beauty.
We thank God for Patrick Regan, Les Isaacs and the
many others of us who have allowed God to turn the pain and brokenness of our
lives into ministries of beauty. And those of us privileged as I am to enjoy
the message Snoopy brings us, may we day by day trust in the God who is
able to turn the painful cracks into Kintsungi Hope.
Has God not promised us ‘beauty for ashes, the oil of
joy for mourning?’ Kitsungi Hope indeed.
