You know the traditional image of pirates from the 17th and 18th centuries...eyepatches, peglegs, and hooks where hands should be. Part of this is due to the historical dangers of the life of a sailor "on account", but part of it is a stylized and stereotypical picture of these seafarers. Maybe the eye was lost taking a Spanish treasure galleon. Maybe a hand was severed in a deadly swordfight. Whatever the reason, these pirates are imperfect, missing something of themselves. Though they can function and live, they are obviously not whole, and that missing piece is very noticable.
In a similar way we are broken and incomplete. Before we find God, there is something in our lives that cries out to be filled and made whole. We have missing pieces, just like a pirate, and suffer from the loss. Our imperfections stand out to Him, but He can heal the broken pieces. In fact, those weaknesses can be our strength. For we must then rely on God to overcome the problems, and He is far stronger than we are.
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
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