Call To Commitment Paper
When asked to pick one thought, idea or section from this book that really encouraged and struck me I had a hard time deciding what to chose. There was so much about this book that inspired, encouraged and challenged me. However, there was one chapter that I am still reeling from.
Chapter 12 is now literally stained with pink highlighter. There was much in this to encourage and inspire me. Art has always been a passion of mine. I used to paint, sketch and design. I even dreamed of going to art school during my last two years of high school; however, I allowed the fear of challenge and the practical voice of the world to silence this desire and passion.
The Potter’s House Workshop was such an inspiration to me. The vision that Church of the Savior had to start the Workshop, a place where the arts could again bring life to the Church and the Church could bring new meaning to art, was a beautiful one. There have been many times in this book that O'Connor has mentioned the connection between art and the church. It is a lost connection that is important to both sharing our story and connecting with the world around us. The workshop created the perfect bridge for this gap in our world.
She describes the connection and the importance of this as a turning. “It is a twofold turning which is required, for the believer also needs art and the disciplines of art to open his life to the experiencing of God’s spirit which is stamped on all that is. If he can look with the eyes of the artist upon a branch, or a blade of grass, or the wing of an insect, or the flight of a bird, he knows whereof the mystic speaks. He learns the art of contemplation and moves into an I-Thou relationship with his world. Wonder and awe are never again so easily lost to him. And so with the artist. If he can touch the life of the people of faith he can know himself as a person, a child of God with a face and a destiny. He will then be able to identify the movements of the spirit in his own life, and to know that his deepest craving is for God, the Creator, whose action is in and through and above all.” pg. 149
This is such a beautiful statement. It creates a need for us to look upon this world with different eyes, the eyes of an artist that sees so much more detail. It was a good reminder for me too, many times I just see the whole, the big parts and miss the little details of life that give our journey meaning. I get caught up in the big events, making sure that I do my part and get it done right. This often causes me to be so focused on the work, that I neglect to see the need for relationship, the chance to just be with someone in conversation and give it my full focus. This passage was a good call back to me and an encouragement to know that the little details can be the most important ones in sharing the whole painting of our lives.
Along with all the encouragement in this book, I found much implicit criticism. One that struck hard, that really opened my eyes and forced me to admit one of my faults, was found in the chapter on the Potter’s House. O'Connor was describing the start up process for this coffee house and all the details that go into it. They decided to do some trial runs with their own congregation and found that though most were quick to catch the dream some were not. “The whole project was especially discouraging to the methodical and practical who wanted to plan every step and to have all the business and staffing details worked out before we made a firm commitment at any point. If we had waited on this kind of planning, this particular project would never had got off the ground, because the people who held the dream were not temperamentally the sort who could do this groundwork even when they saw value in it.” pg. 115.
As I read this paragraph, I had to stop and say, yes that is me and I have let that be a frustration for me in so many ways. Especially when it comes to the areas of ministry I am involved in. I have always been one who needed all her ducks in a row before I made a decision or made a move. I have to make sure it will work out right, perfectly if possible. This always caused stress and frustration in me, and often times it would and does flow into the lives of others. This is an area of my life that I have been cautioned on by others but I didn’t ever really get it until I read it and was able to write in the margins, ‘that is me.’
This has now become an area in my life that I am trying to change. Change here is slow and in small steps since it is so ingrained in me that I don’t always immediately notice the signs. I am learning to rely and trust the words of those in my life who can read me well and speak out of love. I am learning the process of letting go and trusting in God to work out the details as they need to be worked out. Week by week it gets easier to let things go in to God’s hands. It gets easier to put aside the need to have all the answers, the need to know all the restrictions and work within them. I am also learning the need for commitment, commitment to others, commitment to this body, to this place, commitment to God and a commitment to change. “Commitment which makes us willing to live in the tensions of unresolved relationships. However long it takes, however much it costs, we are committed to bridging any gulf which divides us from another” pg. 181. Within this struggle, and many areas of my life I am learning to live out this style of commitment. I pray that God strengthens me with in this and gives me the heart of a servant to follow Him and live to serve His family out of love.
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