쑥쑥몰
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가끔은 어린이들을 위한 동화가 어른들에게 더 감동을 줄 때가 있습니다. 그리고 어떤 글은 제대로 쓰여진 종교서적보다 더 하나님을 가슴으로 느끼게 할 때가 있습니다. 제가 방울이를 위해 고른 이 동화는 이제 제가 가장 좋아하는 글 중에 하나가 되었습니다.
이 이야기는 영혼이 몸을 떠나 Heaven으로 가는 중에 Heavenly Village가 있다고 이야기합니다. 너무 갑작스러워서, 차마 사랑하는 사람을 갑자기 떠날 수 없어서, 못 다 이룬 꿈 때문에 발길이 떨어지지 않는 고운 영혼들을 위해 하나님이 만드신 마을입니다.
길에 버려진 고양이들을 돌보는 빵 굽는 아가씨는 다시 버려질 그 고양이들을 차마 두고 갈 수 없어 이 곳에 머물며 다른 영혼들을 위해 빵을 굽습니다. 평생 은행원으로 모든 것을 counting 하던 아저씨는 Time Keeper로 이 곳에 머물며 이제 더이상 하늘의 구름을 세지 않고도 하늘의 아름다움에 젖습니다.
상상해보세요. 하나님은 도자기를 굽는 한 젊은 potter를 너무나 아끼셔서 특별히 Heavenly Village에 머물러달라 청합니다. 그를 위해 마을 한 켠에 작은 움막을 급히 세우고 천사를 보내지 않고 직접 마을로 들어오는 그를 두 손 잡으며 맞습니다. 하나님은 그가 마음에 들지 않는 도자기를 던져버리는 것을 보고 자신이 세상을 만드는 일에 너무 서둘지 않았나 돌아봅니다. 모두가 잠든 밤 새벽 2시... 젊은 potter의 움막을 부끄럽게 혹 방해가 되지 않나 염려하며 노크하시는 하나님... 기쁨으로 그가 하는 일을 지켜보시는 하나님....
집에서 기르던 고양이가 죽었을 때...수연이는 이렇게 말했습니다. 나를 떠날 수가 없어서 Heavenly Village 어디쯤에서 나를 지켜보고 있을거야. 꼭 한번 읽어보셨으면...그리고 아이들에게 읽어주시기 바라면서 한 시간째 앉아서 글을 올립니다.
이 글은 The Heavenly Village의 여러 이야기 중에 젊은 potter의 이야기입니다.
The potter
It is written that God created the earth in six days and six nights,
and technically this is true,
but He had actually been thinking about it long before that.
This is the way of creation: like a seed in the ground, a tulip bulb in winter waiting for spring,
creation comes first invisibly and settles quietly in the mind.
It waits there.
And when everything is right, when the heart is open, and the mind free, a thing is made.
In God's case, it was the earth. In the potter's case, it was a bowl.
The potter lives just at the edge of the Heavenly Village.
His name is Thomas.
He has a rather ramshackle little house that he uses for sleeping and eating, but his real
home is his potter's shed in the backyard. Walk in and there is nothing but soft clay dust
everywhere. Everywhere!
A potter's life is a messy one. There is the dust on the shelves, the wet mud on the floor,
the ash of fire, the spill of glaze. Thomas loves music and he's tried three times
to keep a tape player running in his shed. But it always gets clogged up with something.
Thomas is one of God's favorite people in the Heavenly Village.
In fact, God asked Thomas if he would live there as a favor. Imagine God asking a person for
a favor.
But he did.
God has admired the work of Thomas's hands for years. he has watched Thomas from afar,
sitting at his potter's wheel, pulling up a piece of moist clay into some exquisite vase
or bowl or pitcher. God can't believe, sometimes, how similar He and Thomas are.
How careful about the craft. How devoted to creation. God watches Thomas throw a pot
and He wonders if maybe he made the earth a little too fast.
Maybe he should have taken more time. Worked the seventh day and rested the eighth.
God is inspired.
Thomas died when he was twenty-seven. It was a car accident. He hit his head
and in an instant he was flying to heaven. Thomas had a few bowls he'd meant to glaze first,
but other than that it was all right. he didn't mind returning to God.
But this time it was God himself who wasn't so sure.
God who saw Thomas on his way up and who looked behind at Thomas's silent potter's
wheel on earth, at the clutter of creation in Thomas's shed that God had quietly lingered over,
at the row of lovely pitchers just glazed in cobalt blue.
God saw Thomas coming and realized maybe Thomas was ready for a change,
but He wasn't.
He met Thomas at the door. This was unusual for God. Usually He sends a messenger angel
or a loved one to meet a new spirit and welcome him home.
Thomas didn't even get a chance to take has coat off. There was God in all His glory
at heaven's front door. He had one of Thomas's pots in His hands. Thomas thought he'd sold
that pot to a nice young woman at the country fair in Indiana. It just goes to show that God is
everywhere.
God talked to the potter for a long time. He told Thomas how He loved the pureness of clay,
the spell of the weel, the strength and eternalness of the work. He asked if maybe Thomas
could stop in the Heavenly Village. He said that there was a nice little ramshackle house
with a potter's shed at the edge of town. (All of which God had rushed into being when He
saw Thomas flying up.) He asked if Thomas might stay.
Well, who could deny God a favor? of course Thomas said yes. But not just because God
asked. Because Thomas thought it was a good idea. He died young. Maybe, through clay,
he could finish his story.
He opened the door of the ramshackle house and invited God in for tea.
Thomas's favorite time to work has always been during the dark hours past midnight.
Interestingly, this has always been God's favorite time, too. It is well known that when he
began creating the earth, the universe was completely black.
so it probably comes as no surprise that often, about 2 A.M., there is a knock on Thomas's
door. God is thaere, a bit shy about bothering Thomas but wondering if He could step in.
Thomas clears away the dust and offers Him a chair. God sits, with pleasure.
And there they are. The earth is turning below them like a child's favorite marble and stories
are beginning and ending and beginning aii over again.
Above them, stars are burning and a mystery is unfolding in the heavens. angels sing.
And here in the Village, the peaceful spirits are sleeping safe in their beds, dreaming earthly
dreams of vegetable gardens and friendly cats and warm cups of coffee at noon.
While they sleep, there is steady sound, a constant hum, a soft flowing rhythm in the air.
It comes from the edge of town. A young potter is placing God's hands on the wheel and
the wheel is spinning round.
이 이야기는 영혼이 몸을 떠나 Heaven으로 가는 중에 Heavenly Village가 있다고 이야기합니다. 너무 갑작스러워서, 차마 사랑하는 사람을 갑자기 떠날 수 없어서, 못 다 이룬 꿈 때문에 발길이 떨어지지 않는 고운 영혼들을 위해 하나님이 만드신 마을입니다.
길에 버려진 고양이들을 돌보는 빵 굽는 아가씨는 다시 버려질 그 고양이들을 차마 두고 갈 수 없어 이 곳에 머물며 다른 영혼들을 위해 빵을 굽습니다. 평생 은행원으로 모든 것을 counting 하던 아저씨는 Time Keeper로 이 곳에 머물며 이제 더이상 하늘의 구름을 세지 않고도 하늘의 아름다움에 젖습니다.
상상해보세요. 하나님은 도자기를 굽는 한 젊은 potter를 너무나 아끼셔서 특별히 Heavenly Village에 머물러달라 청합니다. 그를 위해 마을 한 켠에 작은 움막을 급히 세우고 천사를 보내지 않고 직접 마을로 들어오는 그를 두 손 잡으며 맞습니다. 하나님은 그가 마음에 들지 않는 도자기를 던져버리는 것을 보고 자신이 세상을 만드는 일에 너무 서둘지 않았나 돌아봅니다. 모두가 잠든 밤 새벽 2시... 젊은 potter의 움막을 부끄럽게 혹 방해가 되지 않나 염려하며 노크하시는 하나님... 기쁨으로 그가 하는 일을 지켜보시는 하나님....
집에서 기르던 고양이가 죽었을 때...수연이는 이렇게 말했습니다. 나를 떠날 수가 없어서 Heavenly Village 어디쯤에서 나를 지켜보고 있을거야. 꼭 한번 읽어보셨으면...그리고 아이들에게 읽어주시기 바라면서 한 시간째 앉아서 글을 올립니다.
이 글은 The Heavenly Village의 여러 이야기 중에 젊은 potter의 이야기입니다.
The potter
It is written that God created the earth in six days and six nights,
and technically this is true,
but He had actually been thinking about it long before that.
This is the way of creation: like a seed in the ground, a tulip bulb in winter waiting for spring,
creation comes first invisibly and settles quietly in the mind.
It waits there.
And when everything is right, when the heart is open, and the mind free, a thing is made.
In God's case, it was the earth. In the potter's case, it was a bowl.
The potter lives just at the edge of the Heavenly Village.
His name is Thomas.
He has a rather ramshackle little house that he uses for sleeping and eating, but his real
home is his potter's shed in the backyard. Walk in and there is nothing but soft clay dust
everywhere. Everywhere!
A potter's life is a messy one. There is the dust on the shelves, the wet mud on the floor,
the ash of fire, the spill of glaze. Thomas loves music and he's tried three times
to keep a tape player running in his shed. But it always gets clogged up with something.
Thomas is one of God's favorite people in the Heavenly Village.
In fact, God asked Thomas if he would live there as a favor. Imagine God asking a person for
a favor.
But he did.
God has admired the work of Thomas's hands for years. he has watched Thomas from afar,
sitting at his potter's wheel, pulling up a piece of moist clay into some exquisite vase
or bowl or pitcher. God can't believe, sometimes, how similar He and Thomas are.
How careful about the craft. How devoted to creation. God watches Thomas throw a pot
and He wonders if maybe he made the earth a little too fast.
Maybe he should have taken more time. Worked the seventh day and rested the eighth.
God is inspired.
Thomas died when he was twenty-seven. It was a car accident. He hit his head
and in an instant he was flying to heaven. Thomas had a few bowls he'd meant to glaze first,
but other than that it was all right. he didn't mind returning to God.
But this time it was God himself who wasn't so sure.
God who saw Thomas on his way up and who looked behind at Thomas's silent potter's
wheel on earth, at the clutter of creation in Thomas's shed that God had quietly lingered over,
at the row of lovely pitchers just glazed in cobalt blue.
God saw Thomas coming and realized maybe Thomas was ready for a change,
but He wasn't.
He met Thomas at the door. This was unusual for God. Usually He sends a messenger angel
or a loved one to meet a new spirit and welcome him home.
Thomas didn't even get a chance to take has coat off. There was God in all His glory
at heaven's front door. He had one of Thomas's pots in His hands. Thomas thought he'd sold
that pot to a nice young woman at the country fair in Indiana. It just goes to show that God is
everywhere.
God talked to the potter for a long time. He told Thomas how He loved the pureness of clay,
the spell of the weel, the strength and eternalness of the work. He asked if maybe Thomas
could stop in the Heavenly Village. He said that there was a nice little ramshackle house
with a potter's shed at the edge of town. (All of which God had rushed into being when He
saw Thomas flying up.) He asked if Thomas might stay.
Well, who could deny God a favor? of course Thomas said yes. But not just because God
asked. Because Thomas thought it was a good idea. He died young. Maybe, through clay,
he could finish his story.
He opened the door of the ramshackle house and invited God in for tea.
Thomas's favorite time to work has always been during the dark hours past midnight.
Interestingly, this has always been God's favorite time, too. It is well known that when he
began creating the earth, the universe was completely black.
so it probably comes as no surprise that often, about 2 A.M., there is a knock on Thomas's
door. God is thaere, a bit shy about bothering Thomas but wondering if He could step in.
Thomas clears away the dust and offers Him a chair. God sits, with pleasure.
And there they are. The earth is turning below them like a child's favorite marble and stories
are beginning and ending and beginning aii over again.
Above them, stars are burning and a mystery is unfolding in the heavens. angels sing.
And here in the Village, the peaceful spirits are sleeping safe in their beds, dreaming earthly
dreams of vegetable gardens and friendly cats and warm cups of coffee at noon.
While they sleep, there is steady sound, a constant hum, a soft flowing rhythm in the air.
It comes from the edge of town. A young potter is placing God's hands on the wheel and
the wheel is spinning round.
"The Heavenly Village" written by Cynthia Rylant , printed by Scholastic
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