#62 "So you are in My hand..." Thoughts from the Back Deck...
I needed to take a break. With the passing of my mom, the doctor appointments and procedures, shoulder therapy, and just life... I felt the need to rest in the Lord quietly.
I stepped out on my back porch, heading to the back deck, and happened to glance over at all the Christmas bins waiting to be unpacked to decorate the house. A flash of white caught my eye between the stacks of blue and green plastic bins.
As I drew near, I saw our Christmas cactus blooming with white flowers. I looked to the right, and our smaller Christmas cactus was popping pink flowers. Hidden and out of line of sight was a beautiful reminder of life.
Over the last couple of days, following a procedure that did not yield answers, shoulder pain that seemed worse, not improved, and trying to get back into the swing of the rhythms of serving in my position, I felt the need for some color and life to surround me.
Leaving physical therapy, I stopped at a nearby store and purchased a few items for my office...
Living life together with Jesus does not mean we live without struggles, but we live life knowing and trusting whatever we experience; we are not alone but are in His hands, for He is the potter, and we are the clay.
From Jeremiah 18, we hear these words:
"This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel."
This is a specific word to Jeremiah and the people of Israel, but we benefit from this word as we are reminded that we, too, are being shaped and formed by the Lord through our experiences. Regardless of whether we like or hate those experiences, we are ultimately okay because we are in the hands of our potter.
Those Christmas cacti, I mentioned at the start, sat dormant for a year. They did not seem to grow. I often forgot to water them. I did not do any repotting. Yet one day, buds began to appear, and later, flowers burst forth from those buds.
Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. There are times when we seem to be dormant. Times when we seem to be dry. Times when we experience a famine of sorts. But in Jesus, buds form and bloom. In the hands of Jesus, our plain clay color springs forth in vibrant color and life.
Peace out,
Andy
I stepped out on my back porch, heading to the back deck, and happened to glance over at all the Christmas bins waiting to be unpacked to decorate the house. A flash of white caught my eye between the stacks of blue and green plastic bins.
As I drew near, I saw our Christmas cactus blooming with white flowers. I looked to the right, and our smaller Christmas cactus was popping pink flowers. Hidden and out of line of sight was a beautiful reminder of life.
Over the last couple of days, following a procedure that did not yield answers, shoulder pain that seemed worse, not improved, and trying to get back into the swing of the rhythms of serving in my position, I felt the need for some color and life to surround me.
Leaving physical therapy, I stopped at a nearby store and purchased a few items for my office...
Living life together with Jesus does not mean we live without struggles, but we live life knowing and trusting whatever we experience; we are not alone but are in His hands, for He is the potter, and we are the clay.
From Jeremiah 18, we hear these words:
"This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel."
This is a specific word to Jeremiah and the people of Israel, but we benefit from this word as we are reminded that we, too, are being shaped and formed by the Lord through our experiences. Regardless of whether we like or hate those experiences, we are ultimately okay because we are in the hands of our potter.
Those Christmas cacti, I mentioned at the start, sat dormant for a year. They did not seem to grow. I often forgot to water them. I did not do any repotting. Yet one day, buds began to appear, and later, flowers burst forth from those buds.
Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. There are times when we seem to be dormant. Times when we seem to be dry. Times when we experience a famine of sorts. But in Jesus, buds form and bloom. In the hands of Jesus, our plain clay color springs forth in vibrant color and life.
Jesus is our color and life.
Surround yourself with color and life.
Surround yourself with color and life.
Surround yourself with Jesus.
So I am in His hands.
So you are in His hands.
Are there any better hands to be in?
NO.
Peace out,
Andy
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