Formation

When a member of the Church of England senses a call on their life to ministry, if the call is recognised by their church leadership, there follows a period of time referred to as "formation". This -like most great words- has multiple meanings.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) :  

formationLine breaks: for|ma¦tion

Pronunciation: /fɔːˈmeɪʃ(ə)n/

noun

1[MASS NOUN] The action of forming or process of being formed:'the formation of the Great Rift Valley'
2

A thing that has been formed:

strange black rock formations

2.1A group of people or things in a particular arrangement or pattern:they sat in orderly ranks in a circular formation[MASS NOUN]: the jets took off in formation

Origin

Late Middle English: from Latin formatio(n-), from formare 'to form'

Check out the original entry here.

As "formation" is becoming manifoldly real in my life; I am seeing the true -sometimes harsh- rock face(s) represented by the OED's definition. Formation does literally mean the construction of something where there was previously nothing; or of purpose where there was uselessness before(see God's use of the word in Genesis).

From Psalm 139:13 and Psalm 139:16 we learn that God not only forms things for us, but He also forms things in us (The image on Christ see Galatians 4:19). 

So... as I walk evermore down a path that may -or may not- lead to ordination; I am finding that I -like clay- am being shaped both inwardly and outwardly by the master potter. Not only is He creating new things from the dust in me; but also bringing life from dry bones, and reforming (from which we get the word reformation...Hallelujah!)or rearranging/ordering/setting in formation His Word and principles in my heart. Thank you Lord :)