Faith And Rest

Faith and rest are the two words that spoke to me as I read Hebrews 4, this morning.

The chapter begins like this -- For as long, then as that promise of resting in him pulls us on to God's goal for us, we need to be careful that we're not disqualified. We received the same promises as those people in the wilderness but the promises didn't do them a bit of good because they didn't receive the promises with faith. If we believe, though we'll experience that state of resting.

This is quite a mouthful, but what does it mean?


I grew up sewing then in 2003 a friend gave me a word from God. Sewing was not my calling but pottery was.

My father often told me to finish one job before I started another.  My mother, school and the church controlled me by telling what to do.  These 2 ways of teaching set up polar opposites for my life that lead me on a path of becoming a human-doing instead of a human being.    

Due to my father's teaching whenever I wanted to sew an outfit I would go to the store, buy material, pattern, notions, whatever I needed for the outfit I was going to make, I'd come home and make it.  I did this for every sewing outfit I made.  I didn't just buy material and notions in case I might want to make something later. I finished one outfit before I bought supplies for another outfit.

I carried this through to my pottery.  I bought the clay and glazes I needed to get me through a year of making pottery. This way the clay didn't dry out before I could use it. Also, I wasn't consumed my having to get things done because I had extra supplies that needed to be used up. I was at peace with my projects.

Being told what to do by the world set me up to follow people instead of God. I was a people pleaser.

These two teachings came crashing down on me recently.

My pottery improved and I sold it at local markets and online. People would ask me to make something special for them.  My people-pleasing attitude would kick in.  Not only did I agree to make it, to please them, but I also made it in their time, not mine. You can't make only one piece of pottery, potters have to fill the kiln with pottery.   In a frenzy, I would make pottery to fill my kiln.  I had lost my creativity and pottery became work not pleasure.  Also, I ended up having pottery that didn't sell.

Another way I was a people-pleaser, I made pottery to sell.  I was pleasing myself by trying to make many sales.  If my pottery didn't sell I would look at the successful potters and see what they sold, then I would make similar items that they sold. Surely that would increase my sales.  For example, if a potter sold thousands of ring dishes, I made ring dishes, of course, it was a different design,  I don't want to copy theirs. My sales still didn't increase.

I also deviated from my father's teaching to finish one project before I started another. This happened without my realizing it due to a spirit of poverty in me.

 Several years ago a potter was retiring and gave me some of her bone-dry clay.  I brought it home, put water in the buckets of clay and waited several months while the clay absorbed the water.  I then had to wedge or kneed it back into pliable clay with the proper moisture content. It took me a couple of years to use up her clay. Just as I finished using that clay she called again with more clay and glazes to give me.  It was free, how could my spirit of poverty refuse it. My husband and I filled up our pickup truck. I had lots of bags of bone dry clay to soak back into pliable clay. I used white and black clay, now I had brown clays, some turned grey others turned a red-brown when fired.  Glazes are not all the same, some run, some blend with others, some don't blend very well.  Glazes can also change colouring depending on what clay they are put on.  I needed to test these glazes.  I made a few test tiles then decided to make tumblers and test the glaze on.  At least I would have something to sell.  The problem was I had one of each colour tumbler instead of sets.  Having several of one type of cup is better than one of each type.  I also wasn't creative in the shape of the tumblers either.

A couple of years had past and I was still going through her clay.  My mother-in-law passed away and we had to clean out her house.  She was a sewer and a quilter.  She had bought a lot of material, kits to quilt, and sewing supplies and stored them in her house.  I found material she'd bought 30 years ago.  She probably forgot she had it, or why she bought it.  We also found unfinished knitted sweaters and several unfinished quilts.  Many of the supplies I was able to give away, I wouldn't have had enough room in my house to store them. I brought her unfinished projects home and a few pieces of material that I liked.  There were enough unfinished quilts to give to my sister-in-law, our 2 daughters and one for me, plus small quilts.

About a month after we had finished cleaning out her house the potter lady called me again, she had more clay she wanted to get rid of. I declined, I didn't take any more of her bone dried clay.  My mother-in-law and the potter had been raised in the depression and had the mentality that they might run out, so buy more. I call this the depression mentality.

This was almost 4 years and ago and I am still trying to finish up the clay, glazes and the sewing projects.  This summer at the farmers market, 2 other vendors asked me to make something for them. I often get custom orders. One wanted it for Christmas, the other by the end of October. Again I wanted to please them so I rushed and made a kiln full of pottery to make two items- people pleaser.

The problem is with all of this doing what people want and finishing up what others haven't two things have happened.

1)  I am exhausted.
2)  I am not using my God-given gift of creativity. When I am not being creative I become anxious to be creative.

 I turned what God has called me to do into work without faith and lost my rest in him.

I still have a few more projects of sewing and knitting to finish and a few bags of old clay and glazes to use up, but I have made some decisions.  First I am not going to make pottery to please people.  Secondly, I will not get stressed about the unfinished projects, extra material and clay that I have.  I will use it up in God's time, not mine and not rush to get things done.

I need to get back to enjoying life, being creative and rest in God. I need to slow down long enough to listen to what God is asking me to do.  He created me for a purpose and a plan and a future and that plan wasn't for me to run around like a chicken with my head cut off just to please people.