Jen Chapin - Into The Mystic (Van Morrison)

The Trials of a Teacup

I haven’t always been a teacup. There was a time in my life when I was just a lump of clay. Then my Master took me and began to pat and mold and shape me. It was very painful and I begged Him to stop, but He only smiled and said, “Not yet!”

Then He placed me on a spinning wheel and I went ’round and ’round. I got so sick I thought I wasn’t going to make it, but then He finally let me off. Just as I thought I was going to be all right, my Master put me in an oven. I’ve never understood why He wanted to burn me; I yelled and begged for Him to stop, to let me out. I could see dimly through the glass in the oven door, but He only smiled, shook His head and said, “Not yet!”

Finally He came and took me out. “Oh, that sure feels better,” I said to myself. Then all of the sudden, my Master picked me up and started sanding and brushing me. Then He took a paintbrush and started painting colors all over me. The fumes were so strong I thought I was going to pass out. I pleaded with Him to stop, but He continued to smile and said, “Not yet!”

Then He placed me in another oven. This one was twice as hot as the first. I knew that I would suffocate. I begged, I pleaded, I cried, but He still only smiled and said, “Not yet!”

I began to feel there was no hope. I would never make it. I couldn’t take any more. It was all over for me. I decided to give it all up. Then the door swung open and Master said, “Now!”

He lifted me up and He placed me on a shelf to rest. Later He came to me with a mirror and told me to look. As I looked at myself, I could not believe my eyes. I said, “Oh my, what a beautiful teacup.”

Then the Master explained: “I want you to understand that I knew it hurt when I patted and molded you. I knew the spinning wheel made you sick. But if I had left you alone, you would have dried up and always have been just a lump of clay. You would not have had any personality in your life.

“I knew it was hot when I put you in the first oven, but if I hadn’t, you would just have crumbled.

“I knew it really bothered you to be brushed and painted, but if I hadn’t, you would not have had any color in your life.

“Oh, how I knew the second oven was hard for you! But you see, if I had not put you there, you would not have been able to stand the pressures of life. Your strength would not have lasted, so you would not have survived for very long .

“So you see, when you thought it was all so very hard, I still had you in My care. I knew all along what you would be today. I had the finished product in mind from the day I first touched you!”

Change journey & a piece of clothing

You can think of your personal change journey as being like a piece of clothing. Turn it inside-out. That’s when you see how it’s made. You see all the inner stitching and what holds it together. You see the quality of the seam work. You see the labels, the washing and drying instructions. You see if it’s made to last or if it’s a little flaky. You see if it needs the delicate cycle or if it’s sturdy enough to take the normal or even tough cycle. Inside-out is where you essentially get to see what that piece of clothing is made of.
Every person is a different piece of clothing, each piece requiring customized care and customized washing and drying. Right now you feel like that piece of clothing being turned inside-out. You’re getting to take a hard look at the inside of you and how you operate—your mindsets, the different attitudes and perspectives you’ve adhered to over the years, and how you appear to others.
Real change comes from the inside.

Desperate Prayer

This is one of those special songs that lifts me when I'm down, warms me when I'm cold, wipes my tears & gives me a reason to smile again cause it reminds me that the raging storm will cease.
Click on the post title to hear the song.