Flashback Friday: Getting Centered

“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith…”   Hebrews 12:2

“Getting the clay centered is the most important step,” he cautioned.  “It determines everything else that happens to the clay.  Don’t try to form anything until you have it centered.”  

I, of course, found it hard to wait until the clay was set just right.  

Repeatedly, the potter wrapped his big hands around mine and centered the clay.  He wanted me to feel the difference in centered and not-centered clay.  

Repeatedly, I thought the lump was ready when it wasn’t. Over and over, I would call to the potter.  

“Check it now,” I’d say.  “I think I have it.”  

Every time, he’d just smile as he looked at the clay and say, “Not yet.  You’re close, but not quite there.  Keep trying.”  

His experienced eye could see the wobble without even touching the clay.

I learned quite a bit about what happens when the clay is not centered, because I found it so hard to slow down and wait until I had it right.  

It is tough, if not impossible, to make a bowl when the clay is off-center, and it is extremely frustrating.  Most of the time, my efforts just became “wibbly-wobbly” and collapsed into a little lump before I was through.  

Occasionally, the entire lump of clay flew right off the wheel, hitting the student at the next station.  She was gracious about the first few slimy lumps of clay that landed on her arm or in her lap, but it didn’t take long for her to be almost as frustrated with my efforts as I was.  

“Don’t you feel the difference?” the potter asked as he used my hands to center the clay once more.  

Of course, I felt the difference!  I simply was not willing to wait, so I struggled with the clay instead.  

“When the clay is centered and the wheel speed is right, all you will need is a light, firm touch to make what you want,” he promised.

Having a life that is properly centered is sometimes difficult, too, isn’t it?  There is a tendency to want our dreams fulfilled NOW.  It’s as hard to wait for what we want in life as it was for me to wait until the clay was centered.  

Teenagers find it hard to wait until marriage for sexual fulfillment, hard to wait until adulthood for independence.  Young couples find it hard to wait to have the home and furnishings they’ve dreamed about.  Even middle-aged adults find it hard to wait for the level of financial security they desire.  

Unwillingness to wait often causes us to rush ahead, to take risks, to make choices that are unwise.

Are you struggling with waiting?  

Are you focusing on what you want rather than the things that truly matter in life?  

Slow down and examine your priorities, as well as your methods for obtaining them.  Begin to focus on Jesus Christ and all those “things” will look less important. Before long, you will find that everything else in life will begin to come together.  

As the potter said, getting centered really IS the most important step in determining the quality of what you make – with clay and with life.

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In case you missed one of this week's posts, here are the links:  The Monarch Migration Badge,  The Sermon Without Words,  A Matter of Perspective, Living in Goshen: God's Best, Embracing Our Personal Gethsemane, What is the Point of Suffering: Extracting the Precious, and Mamie and the Ink Stain.

#centered #Christian #wait #theclaypapers

The Grateful Heart: Avoiding Distractions

                           

Today, I'm grateful for the God-designed job that matched a sometimes distractible young man with a company whose decor is designed to avoid distraction.

That's Ryan's photo ID, made yesterday on the first day of orientation for his new job. He's a software engineer for Square, Inc. 

For those who don't know, Square is a financial services, merchant services, and mobile payment company based in San Francisco. Ryan will be working in the Atlanta office. 

Square markets (among other things) the "square" banking card readers that are now being used by small businesses and entrepreneurs. The "square" allows processing of debit and credit cards via smart phones and tablets. It has been called a "disruptive innovation" because it is expected to not only disrupt, but also displace, current modes of electronic banking. They also have Square Cash, Square Register, and Square Payroll.

Ryan will be helping engineer the coding/software that makes all this possible.

I had worried that the "big city" and "corporate headquarters" would be distracting for Ryan, this his mind might be drawn away from his sensible self to the lavish life of a major corporation.

I need not have worried. Every need has already been met. 

As we've texted back and forth the last two days, I've been amazed at their corporate headquarters. The building has an almost-industrial decor. It's lean and, to my eye, a little homogenous, though they do have bright red chairs in the lobby to add a pop of color. 

As I looked through the photos this morning, I realized the method in the madness. No pictures on the wall and limited decor "extras" are not likely cost-savings efforts in a $6 billion dollar corporation. The decor avoids distractions for their workers and helps them keep their eye on the goal of accurate financial transactions.

Although I'm not sure the founders of Square realize it, avoiding distraction is a Biblical concept.

When Jesus visited with Mary and Martha, Mary sat at his feet and listened to every word. "But Martha was distracted with all her preparations" (Luke 10:40) When she was distracted, Martha looked at her sister, soaking in every word Jesus spoke, and became irritated. "She needs to quit listening and start working," Martha told Jesus. (This is the Leanna Paraphrase.) What she didn't say, but clearly thought was, "Jesus, it's a lot of work to take good care of you and your disciples. It's too much for me. Send Mary to help." 

Jesus' goal was spending time with Mary and Martha, not eating a fancy dinner. To Jesus, His goal was the only one that mattered. He made it easy to meet the goal. Sit down. Take your eyes off the food and step away from the kitchen. Come to Me. Sit. Focus on Me.

Jesus didn't call Martha to service. He called her to relationship.

Just as Square, Inc. has made conscious decisions in decor that help avoid distractions, we, too, need to make decisions in our lives that limit distractions from the call of Christ and our relationship with Him. Do the places we go, the things we buy, the entertainments we choose bring us closer to Jesus or distract us from Him? 

"Only one thing is necessary," Jesus told Martha. 

Unless service flows out of the relationship, it's simply a distraction.

His goal for us is no different, so let's pare away the distractions and cling to what remains.

The goal, the one thing that's necessary, is our relationship with the Most High God and His Suffering Servant, Ever Loving Son. 

Jesus. Let's keep our focus on Him.

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ps - I got the information about Square, Inc. from their Wiki page, rather than from Ryan. 

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In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links:  Maggie: Avoiding the Light, Maggie: Sister Love and the Body of Christ, Maggie: Forgiving and Forgetting, Maggie: Being Light,  The Grateful Heart: Predawn Stillness, and The Grateful Heart: The Orchestration of God.

The most read posts of the past week: (for the first time ever there's a tie) Maggie:Forgiving and Forgetting and Maggie: Being Light.

Here's the link to The Clay Papers, available as an e-book for personal use or to send as a gift for only 99 cents. 

Here's the link for The Road to Bethlehem: An Advent Prayer and Devotional Guide, available on Amazon for 99 cents e-book. Paperback $6.00 (Also available to send as an e-gift)
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#avoidingdistraction #focus #relationshipwithJesus #disciple #JesusChrist

The heart revealed

and they rose up and cast Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, He went His way. (Luke 4:29, 30 NASB)

We saw the angry crowd yesterday, but here we see their anger progressing to murderous rage. What is amazing to me is that they were in church when their anger progressed to murderous rage!! You may remember that the synagogue was a local gathering place where the men met to pray corporately and study the Scripture. It's hard to imagine taking that step toward murder while praying or studying Scripture, but that's how it happened. They clearly didn't have their minds focused on the business at hand!

The men chased Jesus out of the city and to the edge of a hill, planning to shove Him down. With all the pushing and shoving, Jesus managed to quietly move through their midst and walk away. He was right from the beginning. No miracles would happen in Nazareth.

The people in the synagogue looked like they belonged there. They had done everything that outwardly indicated they were godly. They were in the synagogue at the appropriate time and they participated in prayer and studying the Scripture just as if they meant it. Their hearts, however, were not fixed on God at all. When Jesus confronted them, they quickly revealed their hearts that were full of pride, greed, anger, and murder. Yuck. What an ungodly mess!

The question for us is what would our hearts reveal if Jesus confronted us in church today? Are our hearts focused on Christ or our own desires? Do we listen to the Scripture and teaching or just sit quietly while we compose to-do lists in our heads?

Pray today that we and our loved ones would see our hearts the way Jesus sees them and that it would trigger a desire to change.