The Crack in the Ceiling

On By The Quiet RoarerIn Faith and Life, Faith during cancer


Big sterile room. Futuristic looking machine. Green laser lights. Warning beeps. Whirrs. Radiation arms sweep over, hover. Breathe in. Hold. Don’t move a muscle! Machine goes to next precise position. Repeat.

I lay on my back and stare at the crack in the ceiling.

That simple little crack has helped me focus on keeping perfectly still as required for each daily radiation treatment the past four weeks.

Today I wonder…why a crack? Why have I noticed of all things, a particular crack and become mentally attached to finding it amongst all the ceiling panels?

Is there a lesson to be learned? A scriptural principle to be applied? Try as I might to draw some significance from it, the only thing I can do is give thanks for it.

You see, that little crack is just what I needed. Something small that diverts my attention away from the large imposing radiation machine and the large reason I’m here, and all the large ambiguous questions that can bounce around in my head with the potential to make me anxious. In a very strange way, once my eyes focus on that little crack in the ceiling, it brings me comfort.

What is the one small thing you can give thanks for right now?

Is there a small and insignificant easily overlooked “crack” in your daily mundane that needs a shift in your perspective so that you notice it and give thanks for it?

Chances are there is, and God put it there because He loves you and knows exactly what you need.

19 thoughts on “The Crack in the Ceiling”

  1. Hi Jo, God’s Word tells us that we are all part of the same body, and that we are to lift one another up and pray for one another, and that is exactly what I am doing. And if you can be thankful for a crack in the ceiling, it is pretty easy to be thankful for you. Just wanted you to know that. May God’s grace, peace and blessings be poured upon you and yours. Love in Christ – Bruce

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  2. This is just what I needed this morning, Jo. I am thankful for the 90% of the children I teach every day who do the right thing. You are a brave lady who knows where to find true strength—in God. I am inspired by your journey! 🙏❤️prayers and love.

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  3. Post often so I may remember to pray for you often, Jo…that the Lord may heal you and give you long life with your family and continue blessing so many! The LORD be with you blessing you with His richest blessings!

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  4. Sister Jo, I love the simplicity of this picture that you share from your own trials. Our God truly is a loving Father, providing for us in every moment…even if it is a crack in the ceiling. I have regular MRI scans of my brain which I hate. During these I close my eyes, recite scripture and pray. It is amazing how fast time zips by in the scanner whilst praying!

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  5. How beautiful that in the midst of your radiation treatments you have found a way to encourage your readers. Thank you! You are truly living out Paul’s words “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all things.” I have to say my crack would be the process of dumping out the coffee grinds from my regular pot of coffee so that my husband, who gets up later than me, can brew himself a pot of decaf before heading off the work. In that simple mindless morning act, I usually say a prayer of thanksgiving for my husband and for the job the Lord has given him to provide for our family. Please know that I will be praying that the Lord continues to give you strength (physical, spiritual, and emotional) as you rest and recover from your treatments.

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    1. Beth thank you, but I must admit the motivation for my writing can be just as much to encourage myself on some days. I am currently reading a book called “1000 gifts” by Ann Voskamp and the verse you quoted is exactly what the Lord is challenging me about as I read her book.
      What a great example of the coffee brewing and the way you give thanks during that…what a wonderful way to start your morning. Bless you!

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  7. Praise the Lord for the crack in the ceiling. Sometimes the little things are the big things, in my experience. If there were no crack in the ceiling of this fallen world by which we might gain entrance to our Father in the heavenly places, oh what a hopeless world this would be.
    Thankfully our Heavenly Father so loved this world that He gave His only begotten Son, that we might be hidden in the cleft of the rock (and what is a cleft but a large crack, after all) when His judgment against sin sweeps this world of sin and wickedness.
    Again, it was the blood that flowed from our Lord’s riven side (and what is a wound but a tear or a “crack” in the flesh of our bodies, after all) that cleanses from all sin all who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in faith.
    And again, is it not the cracks in the jars of clay that are our earthly bodies that allow the light of the heavenly gift of the Holy Spirit of God (with whom we were sealed when He claimed us as His own) to shine forth as a witness to a dying world and as a testimony to people who are dead in their trespasses and sin and in desperate need of a Savior? Some such as these are doubtlessly searching for one small crack somewhere in the barren landscape of their lives through which a ray of hope may shine.
    So, yes, praise the Lord for the crack in the ceiling, placed right where it needed to be. A token of His amazing grace given as a gift to His beloved. And yes, once in a while the very biggest of things is hidden in the very smallest of things. And what could be bigger than the Sovereign Love of Almighty God, and what could be smaller than a crack in a ceiling tile of a big sterile room with a futuristic looking machine with green laser lights.
    God bless you, Jo.

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    1. Hello Craig, I must apologise for only just now seeing this comment in my spam and retrieving it! I should check that folder more often! I’ve actually read this comment several times …so much truth and insight is contained in what you say! I’ve never considered the “cracks” which you have so eloquently pointed out…the cleft in the rock, the wound in our Lord’s side, the cracks in jars of clay! You have given me much to mull over. Bless you Craig and thankyou for sharing such profound thoughts.

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  8. Jo, the way you include the tiny details of life in your writing is what makes it so relatable and special. This piece reminds me of when I was a little child and had a hard time sleeping many nights. (You know, the stresses of being eight. *eye roll*) There were a couple of panels in my door that formed a cross, and every night I would look for them, sometimes staring at them until I fell asleep.

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    1. Ha ha it was actually 5 weeks…but I wrote that during the 4th week. It’s all perspective….I remember during my 6 months of chemo feeling so overwhelmed, until I met a family whose 5yo was having chemo for leaukemia! I’m glad this post lifted you up, and with your positive attitude you’ve truly got this Crystal!

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