This past month I had the privilege of hosting our fifth Harvest Workers Retreat. Ranging in age from 20-something to 70-something, a total of 24 ministry students, faculty, staff, and spouses came together from across Texas and around the country for three days of rest, instruction, worship, prayer, fellowship, and encouragement. While each retreat has been a delight in its own way, this year’s retreat was extra special for me personally. I came away from this retreat overwhelmed with gratitude to God for the immense blessing it was—not only for me, but for so many of our students as well.
As I reflected on this fantastic weekend, I wondered what made this retreat so special. What was it that caused my heart to rejoice and feel so full of joy and thanksgiving? As I reflected, the lyrics of the song “Change My Heart, O God” by Eddie Espinosa flooded my mind: Change my heart, O God; Make it ever true; Change my heart, O God; May I be like you; You are the potter; I am the clay; Mold me and make me; This is what I pray; Change my heart, O God; Make it ever true; Change my heart, O God; May I be like you.
This beautiful song of repentance is born out of the words of Isaiah 64:8, Yet Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we all are the work of your hands. In this verse, we are reminded of the truth about our formation: that God desires to continue to mold, shape, and refine us throughout our lives. As long as we have breath in our lungs, God is not done with us!
What made this year’s retreat remarkable was how the participants seemed to be so incredibly humble, moldable, malleable, and teachable. God prepared the hearts and minds of those who gathered in his Spirit to receive all that he intended to give. It reminded me of the importance of our posture before the Lord: What kind of clay are we? Are we dry, hardened, and set in our ways? Or are we moist, malleable, and eager to be shaped in the hands of the master potter?
So, I give thanks to God anew for the blessings of Harvest Workers students across our association of churches: women and men of every age and stage who are eager to learn and grow, to continue to be molded and shaped by our Lord in order to serve him in different and new ways as he leads and calls. And through these students, the Lord reminds me personally that he also continues to call me (and you, too) to learn, grow, and be formed by him.
This year as we enter the season of Lent, I pray that each of us can offer ourselves in a spirit of humility before our Lord. I invite you to adopt the prayer of the song “Change My Heart, O God”, repenting with an eagerness to be formed in the Potter’s hands.
