Skip to main content

**Worth More Than Sparrows**


Yoh, fam! The other day, I was walking through Akasia, minding my own business, when I saw this…thing. A discarded plastic chair, broken, sun-bleached, practically disintegrating. It hit me hard. That chair, tossed aside like yesterday's news, is a lot like how we sometimes treat each other, isn’t it? We see someone cracked, weary, “used up,” and we just…walk on by.

But that's not how God sees things. He doesn’t see a broken plastic chair. He sees potential. He sees worth. He sees *us*. Even when we feel like that broken, discarded chair, He doesn't write us off. He sees us as far more valuable than a whole flock of…well, you know the story. Sparrows.

Remember that old saying, "A broken clock is right twice a day"? We are more than a broken clock. We are not defined by our failures, our cracks, our "used-up" feelings. God's love doesn't just patch us up; it *redeems* us. It’s not some cheap, quick fix; it’s a costly, extravagant, breathtaking act of love.

Think of it like this: imagine a priceless Ndebele beadwork, meticulously crafted, each bead a prayer, each pattern a story. Then, imagine it falling, shattering into a thousand pieces. Most would simply sweep it away. But God? He gathers those fragments, those seemingly insignificant pieces, and rebuilds it, not just making it whole again, but even *more* beautiful, reflecting the scars, the cracks, the story of its journey. That, my friends, is grace.

This isn't some abstract theological musing. This is deeply personal. I’ve been that broken chair. I’ve felt discarded, unseen, my value measured by fleeting trends and superficial achievements. But then, I remembered the story of the potter and the clay (Jeremiah 18). The clay, imperfect, flawed, was still in the Potter's hands, being reshaped, being made anew. That's the power of God's grace.

So, next time you see someone broken, someone discarded, remember that chair in Akasia. Don't walk past. See the potential, the worth, the beauty that lies beneath the cracks. Extend God’s grace. Extend redemption. Let's build a community where broken pieces are not discarded but cherished, where every story, however flawed, is beautiful in its imperfection. And maybe, just maybe, we can start by picking up that broken chair. The change starts here, in our hearts, in our community, in Akasia, in Pretoria. The change starts with us.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

**Restoring Relationships**

Last Tuesday, during Eskom’s Stage 6 load-shedding, I sat in my dimly lit Akasia living room, staring at a WhatsApp message from my cousin Thabo. Our once-close bond had fractured over a political debate—ANC vs. EFF—that spiraled into personal jabs. His text read: *“You’ve become a coconut, bra. Black on the outside, white-washed inside.”* My reply? A venomous *“At least I’m not a populist clown.”* Pride, that sly serpent, had coiled around our tongues.   But as the generator hummed and my coffee cooled, Colossians 3:13 flickered in my mind like a candle in the dark: *“Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”* Unconditional. No asterisks. No “but he started it.” Just grace.   **II. The Theology of Broken Pipes**   South Africa knows fractures. Our Vaal River, choked by sewage and neglect, mirrors relational toxicity—grievances left to fester. Yet, Christ’s forgiveness isn’t a passive drip; it’s a flash flood. To “bear with one another” (Colossians 3:13) is to choo...

**Cultivating Patience**

 ## The Divine Delay: When God Hits Pause on Your Breakthrough (From My Akasia Veranda) Brothers, sisters, let me tell you, this Highveld sun beating down on my veranda in Akasia isn’t just baking the pavement. It’s baking my *impatience*. You know the feeling? You’ve prayed, you’ve declared, you’ve stomped the devil’s head (in the spirit, naturally!), yet that breakthrough? It feels like waiting for a Gautrain on a public holiday schedule – promised, but mysteriously absent. Psalm 27:14 shouts: *"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage!"* But waiting? In *this* economy? With Eskom plunging us into darkness and the price of a loaf of bread climbing faster than Table Mountain? It feels less like divine strategy and more like celestial sabotage. I get it. Just last week, stuck in the eternal queue at the Spar parking lot (seems half of Tshwane had the same pap-and-chops craving), watching my dashboard clock tick towards yet another loadshedding slot, my ow...

**Rejecting Shame Through Identity in Christ**

  I live in Akasia, Tshwane, where the jacarandas paint Pretoria’s streets with purple hope each spring. From my modest home, I watch the city hum—buses rattling down Paul Kruger Street, hawkers calling out at the Wonderpark Mall, and the chatter of students spilling from TUT’s gates. Life here is vibrant, yet beneath the surface, many of us carry an unseen weight: shame. It’s a thief that whispers lies about our worth, chaining us to past mistakes or societal labels. As a Christian writer, I’ve wrestled with this shadow myself, and I’ve learned that only one truth can break its grip—our identity in Christ. Let me take you on a journey through my own story, weaving it with the tapestry of South African life and the radiant promise of Scripture, to confront shame and embrace who we are in Him. ### A Personal Tale of Shame’s Grip A few years ago, I stood at a crossroads. I’d just lost a job I loved—a writing gig at a local magazine in Pretoria. The editor said my work was “too confro...