The Bible says that God is the potter and I am the clay.

So I’m picturing myself as a lump of dry clay.

The potter gently picks me up with his warm, strong hands. He adds drops of water, to make me flexible and easier to work with.

After I am of the correct texture, the potter lifts me higher… higher… and then plop! He throws me down hard to remove all of my air bubbles and flaws.

Next, he puts me on the wheel and I turn and turn. He shapes me exactly as he wants me, pushing and molding me. Sometimes the pushing hurts, but I know that when he is finished, I will be a beautiful creation. All of this pain, this turning in circles, will be worth it.

As the potter pulls and stretches, I start to take on the shape he wants me to be. And when the potter has me as he wants me, he places me in the kiln to be fired.

“It’s hot in here!”

Now my time in the kiln is done.

“Hurry potter, take me out of here!”

But no, he knows that if I cool too fast, I’ll crack. He knows what he is doing!

Now it’s time. The potter reaches into the kiln and gently lifts me out.

I’m solid, strong and stable. My walls are perfect and I have no flaws. The potter uses a glaze to make me beautiful both inside and out.

All that I have been through—being thrown onto the table, the monotony of going round and round on the wheel, the force of his hands, the heat in the kiln—has been worth it!

The potter has made something wonderfully special!

O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand. Isaiah 64:8

–author unknown