The Alabaster Jar

Have you ever been so excited about a new way to serve God that’s been trampled and squashed by others? I don’t know about you, but I get really excited when I feel like I’ve had an inspiration from God to do his will, but when others don’t have the clarity of that voice in their head, and they can’t understand how you do, it can allow critical spirits to overtake your heart. I have been blessed over this last year to have the flexibility and freedom in my schedule to devote a large chunk of time to developing my prayer life and focus on healing from past wounds. And in that time, I have grown in a new way in my ability to hear God speak life into my story. And now, I hear him calling me to take that healing and that joy out to others. Yesterday, as I was reflecting on the Gospel, I was wondering about my alabaster jar. What is my jar that I have, to not just pour out for Christ, but break so that it can no longer hold that which it held before. And I realized that my desire to have approval from others and how much I care about what other people think of me really holds me back in God’s will for my life. The only person’s opinion that should matter is Christ’s. And measuring my life against his teaching, not against my neighbor, should be the standard for which I aim. I’ve been reading a biography about Saint Catherine of Sienna, and while I don’t know that I will ever have the courage, audacity, boldness that she had to live God‘s will in her life—to the point of holding a man’s head in comfort while he was executed—I do know that I can take a step forward. I am encouraged to live my life with more boldness and courage than I have been. This next week I am launching a new adventure with Christ. I’m offering the skills I’ve learned in service to the wider Church, and just like in the Gospel of John, I pray that the house will be filled with the fragrance of the ointment that comes from my alabaster jar. I pray that the fruits of labor will have a lingering sweetness for everyone as the gift I offer Christ radiates out to all present. I would love to hear from all of you. How has your life been transformed by breaking your alabaster jars and offering the fullness of yourself to Christ for the building of His kingdom?