Treasures in Clay Jars

About the Book

Treasures in Clay Jars is an autobiography based on 2 Corinthians 4:7. Each brief chapter is based on a specific Scripture, meaningfully related to the events within that unit. Built around the struggles of a progressive disability, the story includes obstacles faced in specific areas: developing a career, living in a foreign culture, facing other life crises such as death of a loved one, singlehood and marriage, infertility, adoption and parenting. Although these are arranged somewhat chronologically the story is told in "stream of consciousness."

The structural thrust is a theme most closely connected to a given Scriptural truth which begins each chapter, nevertheless, going beyond the "devotional" by means of the story reconstructed.

The author has walked through more than forty years with chronic and increasingly acute Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, an autoimmune disease which attacks connective tissue and has led to severe crippling. This has necessitated reconstructive surgery to every joint, with the exception of the elbows and jaw. Laurie now uses a power wheel chair after a series of fractures left her with severe mobility problems.

At the age of six Laurie began telling of a "call" to missions—to be a missionary, teacher and writer. This is an account of the fulfillment of that desire; of her unwaning pursuit of the desire to "be a missionary in Africa!"

The visibility of physical weakness cries out for explanation of grace in the accomplishment of Divine goals. Within the context of godly principles, the story becomes possible to tell only in first person, as the Divine Potter and Creator of the clay jar intimately shares His secrets in the process of molding the vessel. What seems to be destruction of a body is proven to be God´s reconstruction of His child.

A brief overview of these chapters follows from the author´s point of view. They are broken up into three sections: Part I—God´s Perfect Plan, Part II—Provision for God´s Call and Part III—God´s Plan in Pain.

"In the past years I have filled volumes with my conversations with God, recording what He said surrounding a specific incident. God showed me that I would be able to organize what others urged me to share when I realized that it was His story. The account is of how He demonstrated His power in the storms as well as in the calm.

"My parents were born to Dutch immigrants in the early 1900´s. Both accepted Christ as young people. Then God purposed to bring them together, and they offered Him a godly seed of twelve children. My family celebrates many milestone dates, and, as the Israelites recounted God´s goodness in many ways, we too find occasion to remember with great enjoyment. Tracing God´s purposes throughout the generations confirms His plans—to make us His own and to make us like Him.

"God had a plan for me which was good. It began with the family in which he placed me. God was first in our home. He proved Himself as the faithful Provider. Each child was welcomed enthusiastically, and each individual treated with importance. My memories are filled with joy and learning. They constitute what God planned—to make me into what He wanted.

"I was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis as a preschooler. This is an autoimmune disease where the body´s immune system attacks connective tissue, causing warm and tender joints, and eventual destruction. I didn´t feel that this new awareness should bring any changes, but it did. Through it all, God´s presence protected me. He was there, and that fact was my strength before I even understood how to know He was walking with me.

"My name, Laurie, means ´victorious spirit.´ Through this name God granted me encouragement as I learned what He saw and expected in me. The disease has made me increasingly dependent on the

About the Author

Laurie Berg Collins was born into a Christian home, number nine of twelve children. By six she was confident that God wanted her to be a missionary, in spite of an earlier diagnosis of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthiritis. Through years of reconstructive surgeries and dibilitating pain, God has enabled Laurie to be involved in Christian ministry—as a teacher in a Christian school and then to missionary children in the Central African Repubic, Nigeria and Bolivia. Writing became an important way to share God's faithfulness—through journaling, correspondence, various articles and, at the urging of others, this autobiography. She and her husband have adopted two Bolivian children. The family resides in Longview, Texas, where they are missionaries with SIM, "on loan" to Missionary TECH Team. Laurie now uses a power chair to ambulate. She focuses on parenting and continues to write, do limited teaching and assist in the Mission office.