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Adelaide A. Pollard became involved in the work of an evangelist named Sanford. Pollard moved to New England to assist Sanford. There, in her forties, she sensed God calling her to serve as a missionary in Africa. Unable to raise necessary funds, her disappointment was intense.
Pollard attended a prayer meeting. An elderly saint prayed, "It doesn't matter what you bring into our lives, Lord. Just have your own way with us."
The prayer touched Pollard deeply. Verses began forming in her mind. That evening, she read the story of the potter and clay in Jeremiah 18. The verses of "Have Thine Own Way" were written before Pollard went to bed.
Pollard did make it to Africa. But she had to leave due to World War I. After a stay in Scotland, she returned to America. She wrote poems, did public speaking, and served in ministry until 1934. Pollard died after a seizure she had waiting for a bus in New York. She was going to a speaking engagement. She was aged seventy two.
The first verse of "Have Thine Own Way, Lord," (1907) reads:
Have thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay!
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.
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Advent is a season of waiting. Faithful waiting is full of faith. This waiting is a yielding to Providence working in unseen ways in our lives.
We know very little of what the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives. God is working underneath consciousness long before the birthing of what Grace wills for and through us. The dreams born in and through us usually go through a long time of gestation in which all we can do is faithfully wait.
Not only does Pollard remind us this Advent of need for waiting and yielding. She speaks of stillness. Without patient inactivity we easily get in the way of what Christ is forming in us. There is no substitute for learning to be quiet and still, open to the inner, silent Action of Loving Providence.
Suggested Reflections:
1) Reflect on the words "waiting," "yielding," and "stillness." How are you practicing these contemplative virtues this Advent?
2) Read the parable of the Potter and the Clay in Jeremiah 18. How do you see the Holy Spirit shaping you into the likeness of Christ?
3) Is there an area or situation in your life you are struggling to surrender to God? You may choose to simply offer that to Christ, as you image Him in your mind, and while extending the arms say, "This I give to you. Take it. Your will be done."
Turn to next page for information on OneLife Ministries, author’s book, An Ache for Union, and data on quoted materials.
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