It always amazes me how the “online world” connects us so that we can encourage, comfort, and love one another. First Corinthians 12 says “we are all part of one body…..” Even though we vary in our skills, talents, and the roles we play, in the end we truly are part of one body, the Body of Christ. I believe online connections highlight this truth.
I read the following meditation today on the Facebook page of a church in Falmouth, Maine. It is quite lovely, and I invite you to read it. If I lived near Falmouth, Maine, I would visit this church and meet the members of its congregation. I imagine they are quite lovely, much like this meditation.
From The Church of Saint Mary The Blessed Virgin, Falmouth Maine
Jeremiah 18:1-11. Says the LORD, just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.
A friend is a potter, an artist. One hand is on the outside, shaping spinning clay, while the other hand applies pressure from the inside. She is masterfully skilled at her craft.
Much of her pottery sells for a fetching price. As I marveled at a particular bowl, she confided that for every piece of art I see, dozens are cast aside. And more times than not, she said, she has to start afresh after working the clay. It is, she said, as if the clay simply refuses to cooperate.
Some days my soul feels like that uncooperative clay. I want to be a pitcher, pouring out knowledge, and God wants me to be flowerpot, a place for another to bloom. Sometimes I want to be a beautiful vase for a rose, and God wants me to be soup bowl from which a homeless man can get a meal. Still, there are times I would like to be a fine piece of unique art, and yet God wants me to be a basin in which Jesus can wash wounded feet. But when I yield to the Artist’s hand, it is then that all feels well with my soul.