This devotion was inspired by my friend, Marilyn Sakeva, who lives in the Hopi community of Polacca, Arizona. We met at Hopi Mission School in Kykotsmovi the summer of 2006 where she was the school's office administrator. I and the rest of our United Methodist Volunteers in Mission team from Maryland had never been to Hopi before and we knew absolutely nothing about these amazing people or their fascinating culture. We stayed at Hopi Mission School for a week sleeping on air mattresses in the gym, fixing our own meals in the school kitchen, and helping out around the school. We did light construction and electrical work, cleared tumbleweed from the playground, and sorted Campbell's soup labels for a new school bus. We also invited local people each evening to join us for dinner and to begin teaching us about Hopi history, traditions, and culture. One evening, Marilyn shared a pottery demonstration with us. In her soft, gentle voice she explained how she gathered her own clay, demonstrated how she hand-built the pots, and showed us how she mixed her own paints and fashioned delicate paint brushes from yucca. She explained the meaning of the various symbols she chose to paint on her pots and described how she fired them in the traditional way using dried sheep dung. Clearly she was a gifted Hopi potter but through many conversations that week I also came to admire Marilyn's deep Christian faith. Our group has continued to serve in Hopi almost every summer for the past twelve years and I'm pleased to say that my friendship with Marilyn has continued to grow to where we talk, laugh, cry, and pray with each other. We consider ourselves sisters (qööqa) and I treasure that connection as a precious blessing!
Reading - Psalm 139:13-16 (The Message)
Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother's womb.
I thank you, High God - you're breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration - what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I'd even lived one day.
Focus Scripture - Isaiah 64:8 (NIV)
O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
Unfinished Pots
Most of the Native American pots that sit on my shelf I purchased because I see them as works of art. But my most valued pot is an unfinished one. It was given to me by my Hopi friend, Marilyn, three years ago. She gathered natural clay herself from the mesa near her home, worked the clay, and formed the vessel.During the week I was there we had become close friends, and the morning I left she hugged me, not knowing if we would ever see each other again. She pressed the small pot into my hands and tearfully whispered, "I didn't get the chance to finish this, but I want you to have it." I value this pot the most because of my relationship with the one who lovingly created it.
As I get older, I sometimes look in the mirror and feel like an unfinished pt. At first glance I notice only the fading hair and additional wrinkles. I question my value. Nothing can stop the aging process, but we can turn from the world's definition of beauty and focus on what the Bible says makes us truly valuable. The Bible tells us that God is the potter and we are the clay (Isa. 64:8). As with my unfinished pot, our true value is in the one who created us. Our Potter not only formed us at our birth but continues with loving hands to mold us into a new creation each day.
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for fashioning us in love. Amen.
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