I went to a pottery class with my
husband the other day.
Okay, there are a couple things to
clarify. First of all, this was a class to make the pottery, not just paint it.
The primary equipment consisted of a spinning wheel, a lump of clay and our
hands. It was the scene from “Ghost,” minus Patrick Swayze. Well, you get the
picture.
Secondly, you read correctly, my
husband joined me. We are soon-to-be empty nesters, and have been trying out
more creative options for our date nights. A couple months ago, we went to one
of those painting workshops together (including the wine) and this time, it was
pottery-making.
I learned a few things about
pottery.
Pottery starts out as a formless
lump of clay. It needs water added and a special touch to shape it into
something recognizable, useful, and possibly beautiful. I appreciated the metaphor
of God as our Potter in a new way.
Isaiah 64:8 (NIV)
“Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We
are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hands.”
I have no defined shape except what
is given me by God. On the outside, I can be curvy or slim, depending on the
season of my weight loss efforts. But on the inside, I have many more
components, such as a passion for meeting new people, a love of numbers, and a
heart to make others feel loved.
We each received a softball-shaped
lump of cool, gray clay which was dense and stiff. We had to add water so it
would be more moldable, softer, smoother. Water softens things, makes them
pliable, more receptive. Perhaps I could use some of this extra water for
molding my perspectives to be more like God’s. Wish it were so simple.
When I reached my goal of losing 100
pounds a few years ago, I had a new shape outside but I started to harden
inside under the pressure of the goal. Coupled with my husband’s health crisis
at the time, I then fell back into old habits of depending on my own abilities
and pulled myself out of God’s hands. Now, I’m losing the weight I gained
again, but this time it’s with an even greater focus on God. Like the clay’s
response to the water, life experiences can adjust my shape.
The end result of our pottery-making
extravaganza? Simple beauty.
