Lesson from the School of Hark Knocks

Scripture Verse that caught my attention today: Jeremiah 18:4 The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.

Observation: God is able to keep reworking/refashioning us.

Application: I really appreciated catching up with classmates, spouses, and teachers at our 30th high school class reunion last night. Although I didn’t get to have in-depth conversations with everybody, it didn’t take long to realize that most if not all of us have had a number of twists and turns in our lives. Some of those turns have been pleasant and some of them have been painful. But for those of us who are still breathing, the journey through life continues.

I’m not really of the mindset that God plans everything. But I am of the mindset that God keeps working with and through us. Like softened clay, sometimes we have times when we do not appear to be quite what the Lord had in mind or had hoped for. But then the Lord keeps working with and through us, re-shaping us into someone who is perhaps more reflective or more centered or more down-to-earth.

Yes, in addition to high school most if not all of us from the class of 1980 have also taken a course or two at The School of Hard Knocks. But The School of Hard Knocks is, after all, still a school—a place where opportunities for learning and growth continue to be offered. Come to think of it, it might even be comprised mainly of the art room, the one place where varied forms of expression are always encouraged, where ‘odd’ might be ‘original,’ where ‘opposite’ might be ‘complimentary,’ and where ‘incomplete’ is just a sign that God’s work with and through us will most surely continue.

Prayer: Lord, thanks for the ways that you continue to shape us as your people. It's a honor to hear some of your people's stories and to share some common threads. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Scripture Readings today included: Jeremiah 18-20, Psalm 93, John 17)