A student asks her wise teacher what must she do to grow in her spiritual life? The teacher said “bring me a glass and a pitcher of water.” When the student returned, the teacher said, “Pour the water into the glass.” When the water was at the brim, the teacher said, “Keep pouring.” The water began to flow over on to the floor. The teacher said. “What does this tell you about how to grow spiritually?” The student thought and thought but could not come up with an answer. The teacher said, “When the glass is already full, it cannot hold anything else. Growth in the spiritual life needs room, then there will be an emptiness for something more to experience and learn.”
We are more than our thoughts, feelings and the image we have of ourselves. We will never discover more unless we can provide space for God’s grace to enter in new ways. Mary was open to receive the angel and the message which announced the new life within. We can be surprised if we provide the emptiness to receive God in new and exciting ways.
The idea of making room for God to “pour “ more life, grace, energy into our lives is challenging and demands letting go on our part. Some days that’s a tough call, tough decision.
We need to provide space for God’s grace to enter in new ways – is an interesting concept that I had not thought of. I am always open to learning new things.
Like I heard something earlier today at a Magnificat presentation that gave me pause to think about something I had done many years ago.