I write today from the United States. Thanks to all who prayed for us on our pilgrimage to Africa. It was a powerful and formative experience of learning from the poor.
“Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in
my hand, house of Israel.” Jer 18:6
Thinking and believing that we are like clay in God’s hands
ought to be comforting, but it isn’t always. Because we so want to control our
lives, we often push away God’s hands shaping us into what God wants. Though we
believe that being “worked” by God makes us wonderful and transparent signs of
God’s life in the world, we resist becoming God’s “pots.”
Many years ago, a potter friend of mine give a
wonderful workshop on the craft of
pottery and its relationship to our spiritual life. First she reminded us that
the clay is formed into a pliable ball and then centered on the wheel where the lightest touch begins to shape the ball into the form the potter intends. God is not harsh she reminded us, and from the ball of all are faults and weaknesses, while allowing us enormous
freedom in our spiritual journey, God makes us into beautiful and useful pots. At the same time, she noted, only
after the pot is formed can it be glazed and fired. The same is true for us. Becoming
the person God wants us to become is a long and slow, but ultimately beautiful
and purposeful process.
Today, give the delicate and gentle hand of God permission to shape you.
What have
been the most important moments in your becoming God’s work?
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