Sunday, January 03, 2010

The dust of the rabbit

It was a brilliant morning in church today. I only went because it was a young man speaking in church for the first time; I was very tempted to stay in bed but forced myself out and I'm very glad I did.

The theme was prayer and reflection and it was a very different morning from the usual. Dan brought us so many lovely and thought-provoking readings and images, and we had the opportunity to scribble, write and paint.

He compared us to pencils in five ways - bear with me and I'll find the bit of paper I made notes on (and I never make notes!) ...
1. You are capable of great things.
2. You have to be sharpened i.e. you go through difficult times but grow through those (I know a pencil gets shorter not grows but you know what I mean).
3. It's okay to correct a mistake.
4. It's what is at your core that is important.
5. You will always leave a mark so be aware of what mark you are leaving.

He said, 'Look at the pencil in your hand. What is at your core? What has God given you to make a mark with?'

And it occurred to me that it is indeed a pencil that God has given me i.e. the gift of writing, and that I want to use that more creatively, expressively, extravagantly in the year ahead. I want the mark I leave behind me to be love-shaped.

Dan ended by reading a blessing that began something like this:
May you have faith in God and may you come to see that God has faith in you.
May you believe in Jesus and you may you come to see that Jesus believes in you ...

The final line was 'may you be covered in the dust of the rabbi, Jesus,' or as I read it, 'the dust of the rabbit.'

I can't be serious for too long after all.

13 comments:

James Higham said...

There are an awful lot of rabbits in synagogues.

Liz, you might be interested in Cymru this evening. :)

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Very nice thoughts.

Jay said...

Hmm.. Trouble is, I've never been entirely sure what IS at my core! I really feel quite aimless most of the time, and jump from one thing to another. :(

Oh well. I must continue to make random marks for others to interpret, I suppose!

Leslie: said...

What a fascinating concept - I really like those lines! I DO have faith in God, but I never thought about His having faith in me! WOW!

CalumCarr said...

Think I'm one of those pencils whose lead is broken and, when sharpened, falls out and needs sharpened again ad nauseam. :)

Clearly you are not of this variety.

Ole Phat Stu said...

"Dust of the rabbit" is indeed correct. Or, to give it its usual name : "Hare Krishna" ;-)

Liz Hinds said...

Oh what have I missed, James?!

Thanks, welshcakes.

I think greyhounds must feature there somewhere, jay! I think it's about using what we are and what we're interested in for good, which you do.

Amazing, isn't it, leslie?

I think we all have times of losing the point, calum. And it's in times like that that we rely on others/God to keep sharpening/helping us. And that's an ongoing lifetime process.

Ha ha, stu!

Unknown said...

I love it! The pencil analogy/parable is excellent.

And 'the dust of the rabbit' sounds something I'd do!

Blessings, Liz.

Alex says "hi" to George, "da woofie doggie."

If I've not shared this with you before, I do so now:

May 2010 bring you
Walls for the wind
And a roof for the rain,
And drinks bedside the fire
Laughter to cheer you
And those you love near you,
And all that your heart may desire.

My name is Suzanne said...

I, like Leslie, never took the time to realize that Jesus has faith in me too! How awesome.

SmitoniusAndSonata said...

Yes , I should dare to attempt more , perhaps , this year . With the help of whatever my version of rabbit dust is , it's certainly worth a try .
Good luck everyone and a happy 2010to everyone .

jay said...

Thanks for that Liz. It's just that I often don't feel that it's enough. Oh well. I'll continue doing what I do! :)

Liz Hinds said...

THanks for the blessing, nick, and George returns Alex's greeting. Woof woof!

It is awesome, suzanne, isn't it?

Go for it, SandS!

We all feel it's never enough but listen to what others say and be reassured, jay!

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

I must remember this Liz....we had a sermon sort along those lines at church on Sunday...about us being Warriors !!