Bowl-ing (it's not what you think)

It's a prayer bowl. I had never heard of such a thing and then this ad popped up on the Facebook the other day. That's nice, I thought, and kept on scrolling. Then, I saw that Pastor Kim was hosting a prayer workshop at the church and it involved painting prayer bowls. Now, I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed but I felt like maybe somebody (read: Somebody) was trying to tell me something. I signed up. And apparently a few others got the message as well because 77 of us gathered in the fellowship hall yesterday morning. There was coffee and juice; bagels, pastries and fruit and... Chick Fil A chicken mini's. Off to a real good start. I sat with women I've known for years and ones I've only recently met and we were reminded of the importance of prayer, the multitude of ways we can practice prayer and the impact that prayer has on the pray-er and the pray-ee. This is not new territory for me - probably not for anyone in attendance. But there was a new stirring - a new urgency that came upon me. A subtle conviction that I've let my prayer life become dry and hollow. And prayer-life is a good indicator of life-life, so... read between the lines. Jesus raised his hand yesterday and beckoned.... hey there... scoot over closer... I've been missing you lately. Holiness sat among us, and the fellowship hall lived up to its name. Then we each painted a bowl to hold little reminders of what and whom we pray for. It was a lovely, well-spent morning.

I walked around the room and marveled at the creativity - no two were alike. The colors and designs were beautiful - some intricate and some simple. My bowl is pretty plain - it has smushes of blue and white around the edge. I put a tear drop inside because most of my prayers come out of my heart and roll down my face. As I painted, Psalm 56:8 came to mind: You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book? Jeremias translation: You know me so well, O God, you catch my tears in your bowl, Surely you keep track of my anguish!

And so now there's this pretty little bowl on the counter. A place to number wanderings - to count intercessions and blessing. A place to catch tears. God and me keeping track of things. God keeping me on track. God and me. Bowl-ing. Selah.