Looking at a picture of the pot and potter
On this day before commissioning:
This day of enjoying friends and marking time
And observing the community in which I have become a novice.
Why can’t I be still and allow the forming
And trust the process
And let God create the opening
Into my inner being?
Because making a pot, a vessel, involves punching and pulling
And slapping and throwing – long before the shaping of the inner beauty.
And sometimes the potter must scoop up all the waste and brokenness
And pound it into a big heap and begin again.
And so, on the eve of commissioning,
I sit in awe of the process thus far
And tremble in wonder at the formation yet to come.
What are you making of me, O God?
Why did you select this process for me?
For surely your call is not so much to do, or even to serve
As it is to be – or rather, to become.
— Nancy R. Smith, (c) June 8, 2001,
the day before being commissioned in the ordained ministry
Jeremiah 18:1-6
FIRE in my Heart 