Читать книгу Advent: A Calendar of Devotions 2020 (Pkg of 10) - Jenny Smith - Страница 4

But now, LORD, you are our father.

We are the clay, and you are our potter.

All of us are the work of your hand.

Don’t rage so fiercely, LORD;

don’t hold our sins against us forever,

but gaze now on your people, all of us.

—Isaiah 64:8-9

Imagine yourself as a lump of clay in a dusty corner. Maybe you feel stuck, abandoned, lonely. But then someone walks over and gently picks you up. You sense their curiosity about what you might become. Apprehension and anxious curiosity rise in you. “Do I want to become what this person is going to create? What if it hurts? What if I’m not on board?” But alas, you’re along for the ride. This potter seems to have an idea in mind, and you surrender in your spirit to what’s about to unfold.

The potter gently sets you on the wheel. Tools are ready, water softens the space, the machine whirs to life. You anticipate the molding and reshaping. You lose parts of yourself. They drop to the floor. As the potter’s hands lovingly bend and shape you into something new, fear melts into peace. You feel held and supported in a stronger way than you could ever manage on your own.

The potter appears to come to a stopping place. You feel their gaze as they walk around you in a circle, stopping to look and assess this new creation. Then you feel it. You anticipated judgment or criticism, but the potter is looking at you with astonished wonder. With joy! With deep love. You are the work of someone who knows what they’re doing.

This Advent, our hearts are invited to take a similar journey. God so lovingly sits with us in our fear and spends time with us this month. We’re invited to surrender and invite the Divine to mold us and shape us into a new creation. Are we ready for the work ahead? Are we willing for parts of us to be removed because they no longer serve our abundant life? Do we trust the One who made us?

As you go about your day, pause to receive the gaze of God. It’s given with deep love and compassion, not a critical eye. You’re fully loved today before you do anything. You can’t earn more of God’s love this day. It’s awaiting you, my friend. May it feel like coming home.

Closing Prayer: God, help me see you as the potter today. Breathe new life into the dusty corners of my heart. I am yours.