More on the bowl

Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.


Ps. 16:5


So, what is the bowl anyway? Really, it's me. I'm a clay vessel, not ornate china, not glassware, but clay--dependent upon the One who made me to fashion me into the likeness of His Son. Because of this, it is not my business to look at the other 'cups' out there wishing I had gold leaf, beautiful artistic patterns for all to enjoy. My sole purpose is for that of the Great Potter. He has a plan for me unlike one for anyone else He has created. He will mold me and form me into whatever he wills and I must let him.



Ultimately, it is his decision what I'll look like and further, it's His decision about what sort of things he will place in my cup--challenges, blessings, lessons. This is my portion, carefully hand-selected just for me. What a multifaceted God He is! For in everything, He is with me on this journey that is just mine and His. Sure, there are folks who go thru similar situations, face like challenges, take the same 'tests' I take, but because of who He is, I'm sure to have my very own road with him right beside me.

Phillipians 4:11b-13

...for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hunger, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

Why does this secret seem to be so elusive to many of us these days? It shows itself in various forms, in all sorts of situations: eating what I have at home or going out for the more interesting fare at a restaurant, drooling over the things in the Target ad that would make my life so much better, searching for that perfect shirt that will make me look like a supermodel...ok, not really. What I can see is the thing I'm doing that keeps contentment far away: looking in someone else's 'bowl' for satisfaction.

Truth be told, I'll never find the thing that is for ME in someone else's bowl. My job, as it were, is focus squarely on reality--what I have, what I have been given, and to be thankful for it. My Heavenly Father knows exactly what I need and is EAGER to give it to me. So why do I spend so much time craning my neck to see what someone else has, what someone else's been given? It seems that this is part of 'the fall.' Being inundated on every front with what others have, what others can do, what I don't have or can't do sets me up for frustration.

The good news is, contentment can be learned. So through this blog, it is my hope to set my heart on what I have been given and being thankful for it, to move into that secret place of contentment for "Godliness with contentment is great gain."