Good morning…
These glass bottles line one window sill in our living room. They serve as a reminder of God’s repeating process of growth, change, regeneration.
The egg of our potential exists. Then, unexpectedly, things fall apart. We sit still in the sticky mess, empty, empty, empty. Over time, the seed of new life begins to form, “Amazing things are happening here.” Together, only together with God, “WE can,” we can face the unknown future as Holy Spirit power expands inside of us.
I bring my honest self to this present moment. I’ve broken a lot of things this Christmas. Rules. Expectations. Trust in important relationships. Unintentionally. Regretfully. Naively. I’ve broken a lot of things this Christmas.
I feel bad. I feel overwhelmed. I feel frustrated with myself. And, just now, I meet a poem which offers me perspective on some of my well-intentioned and misguided choices.
******
On Christmas Morning by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
It was broken when I opened the gift,
the long ear of the small clay bunny.
The giver apologized, but how could she
have known that in the breaking
it became that much more precious—
aligned with the truth that all things
break, and the breaking makes
them no less beloved. Perhaps more so.
What surprised me was how the break
cleaved a perfect heart shape, a message
hiding inside the whole. I cried then,
not because the figurine was broken but
because I’m gloriously, terribly broken, and oh,
it’s so beautiful to see it, the love in everything.
******
I, too, am gloriously, terribly broken. And yet, oh, it’s so beautiful to see God’s love in everything.
Now, I remember back to what happened to Mary during the first Christmas season. An angel came to this young girl, saying that she would give birth to the Son of God, Jesus who would save the world. And what was Mary’s initial response?
In verse 29 of Luke 1, we are told in various translations that Mary is disturbed, perplexed, very upset, deeply confused, greatly troubled, and thoroughly shaken. The EASY translation sums up Mary’s experience: Mary had a lot of problems in her mind about Gabriel’s message. She did not understand what he meant. The dream life she had envisioned was broken. Left confused and wondering, Mary’s anxious fear must have been palpable, since we read in the next verse: The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, because God is very pleased with you” (v. 30, ERV).
With her empty womb soon to be filled by the Spirit of the living God, over time Mary began to sense, “Amazing things are happening here.” The angel calmly encouraged her, “For with God, nothing is impossible” (Luke 1:37, CJB). God’s saving power and potential was eventually birthed through Mary.
Though I’ve unwittingly broken many things this Christmas, the egg of our potential still exists. Yes, things fall apart. For a while, we sit still in the sloppy mess, feeling empty, empty, empty. Yet, over time, we notice forms of new life emerging, “Amazing things are happening here.” Together “WE can,” we can sense Holy Spirit power growing thick inside of us. We can face our unknown future, for with God, nothing is impossible. Might God’s saving power and potential be birthed through us?
These glass bottles line one window sill in our living room. They serve as a reminder of God’s repeating process of growth, change, regeneration.
…Sue…
P.S. If you had to chose one of these bottles to represent your experience right now, which bottle would you choose and why? The egg of new potential. The experience of falling apart. The empty, empty, empty stage of growth. The recognition of “amazing things are happening.” The yes, with God, “WE can.”
Bringing your honest self to this present moment, what might God be teaching you right now?
