Clay in the Hands

I don’t know about you but I tend to stay pretty busy.  I am not complaining.  In fact, sometimes I have to admit I thrive on the rush of “accomplishment.”  Someone on the outside could look at my calendar and see all the squares and be able to say, “if the objective is to fill all the boxes – you’re winning.”

Several years ago I read a book by Ruth Haley Barton titled, An Invitation to Solitude and Silence.  The book is a very good and insightful book but one of the things that has stuck with me to this day is an illustration she uses in that book.

That illustration actually sits on my desk still today – I’m looking at it as I write this post.  It is a baby food jar filled with water and about a 1/2″ of dirt.  The jar represents my life.  If I reach over, pick it up and give it a good shake, the dirt and debris swirl around in the water and the water gets so cloudy I can’t see through it.

But if I let the jar sit still long enough, the dirt settles and the water clears.

Our lives are like that.  When we stay busy, “stuff” is flying around inside us so fast we can’t focus on anything.  But when we sit still and just wait on God, he often blesses us with wonderful clarity.

So when I feel overwhelmed, I look at my little jar and remember, “Maybe I need to slow down, sit still and listen for God.”