At Last

Tags

curiousity, daily routine, Divine Potter, energy, God's love, God's work, gratitude, homecoming, jeremiah, potter, purpose, shaped, Sisters of St. Joseph, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, travels

My “homecoming” this past Sunday was truly refreshing. Being able to sleep for a continuous 12 hours (!) and then walk outside around our land in the morning breathing the good country air and catching up with my housemates on the events I missed while I was away felt very, very good. It only lasted for 48 hours, however, as on Tuesday afternoon I was back in the car on my way to Albany to help with a CSJ Community retreat. Today is Thursday and although working and praying with the Sisters is a special privilege I am happy to be heading home again late this afternoon. This time I plan to stay awhile.

I was reflecting on all my travels during July as I read the message about the potter and the clay from the prophet Jeremiah this morning (JER 18: 1-6). Verse 6 has God saying through Jeremiah: Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand. I feel a bit like that clay today, having been shaped by all the various places I have been, the different but related experiences I have had, the conversations that have moved me, the energy that has been shared…I have come to see that every day can add to the shaping of my being if I am awake to the possibility of God’s work in me. It will take awhile to let this extraordinary month settle in its entirety, but what I know now is that nothing happens by chance and everything has its purpose. The most prominent sense that remains with me is gratitude which I intend to carry into the daily routine that will restore a sense of place and familiarity of experience in the days ahead.

May we all be – each and every day – like clay in the hand of the Divine Potter, willing to enter into all the shaping experiences with a recognition of God’s great love and a curiosity about the final shape of us that will emerge in the end.