I was commenting on someone else’s post the other day in which he had referred to Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection and it reminded me of when I first read the book of his sayings “The Practice of the Presence of God”. It is a wonderful book and should be required reading of all Christians.
For those who don’t know about him, Brother Lawrence was a simple man who worked mostly in the kitchen of a monastery (he was a lay brother there). His simple but profound faith so impressed his contempories that many well-known Christians came to talk with him. From this came the book.
Anyway, I was very moved by the book and was praying about it when, a couple of weeks later, I found myself working in a large kitchen, cleaning pots for several months. God has a really good sense of humour! As I meditated on the irony of this, I wrote this poem.
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Just an ordinary pot,
An ordinary, dirty pot,
Like those that came before,
No different from those lined up behind.
And yet
As I watch it sink
Into the hot, soapy water,
I know that this pot is special:
This pot is God’s gift to me
In this moment.
Even as I work on this pot
It works on me,
A minister of God’s grace,
A drop of grace,
Just a very small drop, maybe,
But the one I need.
Like a squeaky wheel
Quieted
By a small drop of oil,
My soul accepts
This most precious gift.
As my hands caress it I sense
Other hands there with mine,
And I know I am not alone,
That here, in this pot room,
I stand in the presence of God.
thoughtfulspirituality 