From Potter to Clay

“But now, LORD, you are our father. We are the clay, and you are our potter. All of us are the work of your hand” Isaiah 64:8.

I remember when I was a little girl, I had this pottery kit that boasted the outcome of a beautiful clay creation. I remember the first thing I had to do was massage the clay until it became more workable. Once it would pull apart and mash down easily it was time to create. I added the suggested amount of water and began molding and spinning the lump of clay. I remember working hard at it envisioning the outcome of something beautiful…perhaps a little dish in which to place my rings…maybe a small vase where a flower can find a home. The possibilities were endless, and my optimism was high as I continued with wet gray hands to form something from the formless. But at the end of the project the only thing I had formed was another lump of clay.

Looking back over my adult life, little did I realize that I had lived most of those years trying to be the potter over my circumstances. When life delivered a lump of clay…those tough circumstances…I took them in my hands massaging and molding them into a solution I determined was right. But just like when I was a little girl the only thing that I ended up with was another lump of messy wet clay. I spent so much time trying to mold myself into an image that wasn’t who God created me to be. And finally, I turned off the light in my pottery room, closed the door and joined the Lord in His. It was nice to be in the hands of the One who could not only mold me into His image but shape me into a unique vase to display His glory. While I will show flaws until I wake up in Heaven God still sees me as beautiful and useful in His hands. The same God who molds me molds you and deems you loved and beautiful too.

I’m so thankful that we have a potter who can make beauty from our marred conditions. I’m confident that any flaw or imperfection that we have can be smoothed and refashioned once God wraps His hands around our lives. There will be pressure applied as we spin around this life, but the 'God indentations' will represent the person whom He wants us to be. We will be shaped into the vessel for which God has determined, walking out our individual purpose and beauty. We will all hold our unique blooms…the gifts and talents He has given us… if we stay in the hands of the Potter. Our fragrance will be different because God made each of us from a mixture of ourselves and His spirit. Just like vases we all have our own shapes…colors…blooms to carry out the will of God in our lives.

“But thank God, who is always leading us around through Christ as if we were in a parade. He releases the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere through us” 2 Co 2:14.