Prayer: The Potter's Hands

Strong hands hold

a shapeless lump;

clay to be pounded and kneaded

until, even textured and air-freed,

it is supple-smooth for the potter's wheel.

The swift-spinning motion;

pressuring hands that pull

and draw relentlessly into center -

for what is not centered must be put away;

only centered clay can yield its inmost.

Clay thus opened to shaping action -

hand moving steadily

pulling

raising

widening

asking for the form that is hidden in the clay

hand strong in supportive stillness

speaking its own unceasing demands.

To one-in-answer; to the other in trust

the clay

pulls

rises

widens

surrenders the form hiding in itself....

becoming one with the potter's will

until spent and shaped

is freed to wait for the time

to confirm into hardened shape

in dialogue with the potter.

Not as a final respite,

but only to be turned

so that what is not perfect may be revealed

and placed ruthlessly

beneath the cutting tool,

until, smooth-grooved and time-hardened

it is purified by fire into final shape;

now enabled to receive

color and shine from another's hand -

final surrender to the potter's wish.

Lord Jesus,

it is your hands

that take

and knead

and center

and open

and support

so that clay can yield itself

in obedient answer and trusting surrender

to your loving, painful action

that draws, relentlessly, into God-center,

so that open,

yielding,

totally one with your loving will

it is freed to wait

and confirmed in shape

and burnt in fire

and clothed in color-

to delight the heart of its potter.