Tip of My Iceberg

We gathered on my porch and in my yard, social distancing and grateful to be together.

Women need connections; coming together meets needs in feminine hearts that zoom can’t accomplish.

Sharing with one another provided the backdrop for a chance to be creative. Each woman was given several packets of magic clay and was challenged to create a shape that could express where they were now. Their red dot experience; just like in malls with the map and the dot that pictures, “You are here”.

Some hesitated, not feeling very talented nor having inspiration for what they could shape. Others began molding immediately with a purposefulness that gave energy to what they imagined.

Conversations never slowed, but almost everyone made something. The talk moved into sharing what each piece meant.

The sharing became deeper, more intimate. Molding a shape with your own hands that expresses where your heart is can be heady. What may not be easy to communicate with words becomes easier with clay. Authenticity was revealed within the shapes, and when they had the opportunity to talk about what they’d made, it made the truth easier to share.

In this time of change and disruption, our hearts are being shaped by more things and experiences than we’re often aware of. Fear tends to shape us smaller; joy expands the size of our hearts. Worry creates ripples of skepticism on our surface that cause us to lose the smoothness and elasticity of our emotions. Celebratory experiences deepen our color and glow. Arrogance ignores all other shapes around us, spreading us thin with no real impact on anyone. We become flimsy and superfluous.

With the pandemic and the unsettling issues with an upcoming election, it becomes easy to shape our hearts smaller so we can’t be hurt. To minimize what’s happening around us so we won’t be affected. But those fears tighten our grip on what we can’t control and cause us to suffocate our hearts in ways that can permanently impact them. 

But God.

God is the Potter, and we are His clay. Made in His image, formed by Him for good works to do for the good of others, we are not small, insignificant ceramic pieces that mean nothing. We are beautiful jars, and if we allow Him to fill us with His truth and grace, even with our cracks and chips we are spectacular.

Because of the Potter’s hands. 

We do have a choice of who will and how we want to be shaped.  We can allow random people with ideas we may not completely agree with shaping our thoughts and actions. We may also embrace cultural norms because everyone else is doing it.

Or we can allow the wisdom and love of the Potter to be the One that adds shape to our lives with His kindness and understanding. God knows us perfectly. His truth can help us form solid thinking and clear actions. We don’t have to be buffeted by the storms of life or the harsh hands of hurtful people and experiences.

He promises He will never let go of us until we become all He knows we can be.

His hands are gentle with the sweet pressure of love.