Beautiful Pressure

A couple weekends ago, I was blessed to be able to escape to a loving family's home in the beautiful Dutch countryside. I was sitting in their garden having some quiet time on Father's Day morning when the Lord revealed to me more thoroughly the Biblical analogy of the clay and the Potter. 

It was a great gift because this last month has been one of intense pressure, re-centering and molding. This revelation brought great inspiration and healing to my heart. It spoke so much life to me. I'm hoping it will do the same to you. Below is a part of my journal entry from that lovely Sunday morning...

"But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our Potter; we are all the work of Your hand." -Isaiah 64:8 (ESV)

How ironic I read that passage on Father's Day while looking at a pottery wheel...

 



Throwing clay is a funny thing. It's such a great analogy between us and God.
















All we are is dirt. Muck. Mud. Nothing beautiful or functional about us. But the Potter already has a beautiful design in mind. He knows when to apply pressure, when the clay will be stretched thin and when He has to trim off parts of the clay...but those actions are never mistakes, they're all part of the beautiful design.

The only time things get messy is when the clay is thrown off center.
When the clay seems to have a mind of it's own; that's when things get imbalanced, wobbly, and sometimes totally torn apart. Some minor imbalances take just a quick re-centering, while some bigger damages take totally starting over...but that doesn't mean the clay is finished; it just has to be remolded in parts.

The process is also different not only in the design, but also by the actual type of clay used. Gray clay, red clay--how smooth it is depends on its origin. No one clay is better than the other; they each have a purpose. Some are really good for functionality, while others are better for artistic purposes. Each is different, each has a different composition and purpose. 

Often, when the Potter is working with the clay, pieces of rock and shard begin to surface under the Potter's molding pressure. Some clay has more shard pieces than others due to its more rough origin.
When the pieces surface, the Potter simply stops the wheel, carefully and precisely removes the piece with gentleness and then immediately resumes his work while filling in the little hole left from removing the debris.  

 
No matter how much debris surfaces, no matter how imbalanced things get, the Potter is always working with His hands. He is constantly engaged--constantly focused on His work. If He stops, the clay dries up and cracks--loosing it's ability to be molded. 

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Is there really a better analogy for our walk with God and the process of becoming more like how He designed us to be? There are times of lots of pressure--but that's when the clay takes on the most shape. There are times when there is little pressure--but His hands are still fully engaged.

He is always working.

The only time the wheel stops spinning is when He has to carefully remove debris. The wheel stops because this takes great precision and concentration--but He is never disengaged.

The Potter--our Potter--never gets bored with His work. He never begins something and then moves on. He is continually working on us and molding us into His likeness and original design--a beautiful design that is glorifying to its Creator. 

When people see a masterpiece, they admire its beauty but don't give the credit to the art itself; they give the glory to the Master artist. They say, "Wow, how skilled this Artist is that He can turn dirt into something extraordinary!" They don't say, "Wow, look at you clay for becoming a beautiful pot!" That doesn't work.
  
The clay remains mud without the gentle, attentive and caring touch of the Potter.





Jesus,
I am Your clay, You are my Potter.
I AM NOTHING WITHOUT YOU. 
You alone form me. You alone make me beautiful. And You alone are the Master Artist and You have a wonderful design for me.

Thank You for Your gentle creativity. Thank You for Your artistry.




Your molding work in me inspires me to let go, be shaped and be creative myself throughout the whole process.







I love you. 

Love, Hanna



The above pictures are nothing special, just a variety from my Canon and Iphone :)

The Art of Living with No Expectations

Expectation. 

What an intricate, arduous word.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary (because I'm a nerd who likes to look up words) defines the noun "Expectation" as:

1. A belief that something will happen or is likely to happen. 
2. A feeling or belief about how successful, good, etc., someone or something will be. 

Alongside the official definition, I think we all have different personal definitions for the word as well.

For me, in the past this word has been defined with the description of "disappointment and failure."

I was disappointed in the failures of myself and others. I began to no longer expect because so many times when I had I was left disappointed and licking the wounds I either inflicted on myself or was caused by others' lack of care.

However, for a long time I did hold unfair expectations over other people. I was becoming emotionally dependent on them for love and emotional satisfaction. It was around age 18 that the Lord came to with a revelation that radically changed my life:

He said,
        "Hanna, true love has no expectations. When I died on that cross, I did not expect you to pay back that deed because I already knew you couldn't. Love only hopes. It always hopes (1 Cor. 13). Stop placing unfair expectations on yourself and others and choose hope instead."

Expectations on people often leaves us hurt. Expectations on situations often leaves us confused. Expectations on events often leaves us unsatisfied.

I briefly shared a couple posts back that the Lord told me to come to Amsterdam with no expectations.

That has been one of the most liberating experiences of my life. 

It is in that place of open hands, staring into the burning eyes of my Savior I am able to receive the gifts of people and ministry he has in store for me.

You can't receive gifts with the closed fists of control, expectation and distrust. 

To truly experience the full joy of receiving a gift there must be an element of surprise and unexpectancy. Think of a time when you were expecting a certain gift but instead were given another. Even if it was a good gift, the expectancy of the other dulled the joy of receiving what was actually given to you. 

The same applies in expecting the way things will go in the future. In order to receive the fullness of joy in this life there needs to be a decrease of expectation in our lives and replace it with an increase of hope and thankfulness.

For no where in Scripture does God ask us to expect, but He does ask us to hope. 

Proverbs 10:28:
"The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish." 

Psalms 71:14: 
"But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more."

Romans 12:12: 
"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."  

Romans 15:13: 
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

Hebrews 6:19-20:
"We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." (ESV)

Now that sounds all nice and simple. Like, "Oh! Great! I just need to no longer expect and trust God in hope knowing he will give me good gifts." ...but it's not that easy, is it?

Laying down expectations means laying down your own ideas of how things should be and radically trusting the Lord. Even when we face situations like disease, divorce and death.

Now I don't know about you, but for me--a Type-A, always like to have a "5-year plan" kind of person--laying down expectations feels like scrapping off my own flesh in total vulnerability before the throne of Jesus and coming to a place of complete dependency on him.

But it's in that place I've found the most joy.
It's in that place I've experienced the most peace.
It's in that place I've experienced the most gentleness, love and contentment.

It's in the place of the unknown I've felt the most known.

So will you join me in learning what it means to lay down expectations and replace them with hope in God?
Will you join me, dear brother and sister, in choosing to let go of disappointment and replace it with thankfulness? 
Will you join me in choosing freedom and joy to receive gifts instead of bitterness? 

Jesus, thank you for loving me with no expectations. Thank you for giving me joy instead of bitterness, and thank you that there are always gifts to be thankful for. I am inspired by you to let go, trust and keep my hands open to receive the gifts you have for me. 

I love you. 
 



Love, Hanna


 

 

Capture Life: Monumental Mountains

These past two months in Europe, I've been so encouraged in how many outlets there are for me to create and capture. 

Music. Photography. Painting. Writing. Even coffee.

My heart is coming alive as I'm surrounded by beautiful places and people.

Last month I had a privilege to visit Switzerland and France with my friend Allison for a long weekend.

There are few times my camera has been used so consistently.

Switzerland was especially breathtaking. 

The Alps. The Alps. The Alps. 

The Swiss Alps were the first thing to see on my travel checklist and they were INDESCRIBABLE.

That's Friedrich, our trusty little 90's Subaru that transported us everywhere!

...says the girl who grew up in the North Cascades.

I wish these humble captures could do these monumental mountains justice.

Switzerland was incredible. Even spiritually it is such a place of rest. Neutrality and peace leak throughout all aspects of the country.

From the quaint streets to the deep valleys and mighty peaks, Switzerland boldly reflects the Glory of its Creator. 

My heart burst with inspiration as I fell in love with this continent even more.

Although, the whole time I was homesick for Amsterdam. For no peaks or lakes can compare to the love I have for my city.


Jesus, thank you for creating Europe. 

Thank you for this amazing place full of so many incredible people who have embraced me so dearly. 

Thank you for homes away from home. And thank you for creating such beautiful and breathtaking places that point directly back to you. 

I love you and being inspired by Your creative work. 

Love, Hanna