Hot chilis no matter whether they are whole or crushed can make you cry.  Touching a whole chilli and then rubbing your eyes will result in tears.  But when they are crushed, their capacity is much greater.  They can get into your system through the air, or even through every bite.  So it is with crushed people.  Every interaction can get into my system and challenge anything that is pretentious, prideful, or like them cracked.  Though I am finding the fellowship of cracked lives is actually pleasing to share.  "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."  (2 Corinthians 4:7)  I am cautious of my own mortality–no not mortality–I am cautious of my own fragility.  Life in a broken body or broken relationship or a broken dream holds no attraction to me.  The small glimpses of my own experience into these depths is not comparable to that of the men I met today.  However, comparing is not helpful.  Each man stands before the Lord with the same promise of sufficient grace.  Crushed red peppers don’t taste the same or even burn the same among us.  But when they do the balm of cold milk, sour cream, or yogurt is refreshing.  So it is with Jesus–He is our balm, our grace, our mercy, our life whenever we are crushed.