"The Sacred Cups of Our Lives"
by Rev. Dr. Amy Chilton on 10/27/23
At our recent leadership retreat, I invited the leaders who had gathered to join in a meditation exercise of imagining themselves as cups being held gently in God’s hands and being filled by the Spirit so they might have what they need to fill others. Traditional Christian spiritual practices such as prayer, singing, and meditation can help fill us with God’s grace and presence, as can less traditional spiritual practices like going for a walk and enjoying creation. There are many ways to empty yourself to the point of exhaustion when you are serving others, fortunately there are always ways to be filled!
Just like I invited our leaders, I also invite you to choose a cup. The cup in the picture above is the one I took to the retreat. It was handmade by a dear friend’s friend. Yours might be one you just like the look of or it is a souvenir from an especially memorable trip. You choose! Take a few moments and hold it in your hands. Close your eyes and feel the weight of it. Imagine, if you can, that God is holding you. Let yourself rest in the warmth of our Creator, cradled in the same hands that formed us from the dirt of the ground. Then shift and imagine the inside of the cup - the inside of you. What might the Holy Spirit want to fill you with? Courage? Joy? Strength? Peace? Rest? Ask!
Hear these words as you wait on the Spirit:
I have called you by name,
You are mine…
You are precious in my sight,
And honored,
And I love you
(Isaiah 43:1,4)
Place your cup somewhere you can see it, and when you do, remind yourself that you are held in God’s hands and the Spirit is present and ready to fill you with God’s overflowing and abundant love. YOU ARE LOVED.
“Bestower of Life, Abundant Love,
Trusted Companion, Eternal Wisdom,
I pray your blessing to be upon this cup and upon myself.
Make of this cup a sacred vessel
as I pray with it each day.
May this cup become by teacher,
Helping me to find my way to you.
May this cup hold many messages
Of your wisdom and your comfort.
May this cup connect me with life
And create in me a generous heart.
May this cup draw me ever closer
Into loving oneness with you.”[1]
Blessings,
Pastor Amy
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[1] Joyce Rupp, The Cup of our Life: A Guide for Spiritual Growth (Notre Dame, Indiana: Ave Maria Press, 2005), 18.
