You Are The Potter

Yet you, Lord, are our Father.

We are the clay, You are the Potter;

We are all the work of Your hand.

(Isaiah 64:8 NIV)

Coming to the pottery, I was very excited to have my creative rest in a very different place. It was my first time to try pottery, and I was excited to create something out of clay as well. Having a tough week (a very dear pastor in my home church passed away three days prior), I brought an open and broken heart, with full anticipation that God will speak to me through art – the very aspect I love.

The first thing that we could try was to fold the clay with our hands. It was so easy to watch, but when I did it myself, I felt like I destroyed the mixture; I felt a bit disappointed towards myself since I thought it would be easy-peasy and I could nail it. 

I then got the chance to create something using the potter’s wheel. Initially, I couldn’t form the clay, until the assistant removed the clay from the wheel and smashed it so that it would stick properly to the wheel. On that note, I realized that for me to be properly formed by my Potter, I have to be properly founded in Him, and I have to properly abide in Him.

As I tried to form the pot, I felt God whispered to me to have the courage to create. It dawned on me how fear stopped me from creating a lot of things. Sometimes, I overthink doing things that I fail to enjoy the process. I get discouraged if I commit mistakes that I fail to enjoy the process learning and growing.

Pondering on the process of trying, failing, learning, and eventually creating something, I am more encouraged to create new things and discover new adventures. And pondering on the truth that God is my Potter, there is a sense of security that He is always in control of my life – that He controls the speed of time, He forms my shape, and even if I do things that may destroy my formation, His hands are always ready to restore me.

The other kind of the pottery was hand building. I honestly liked it more because I felt that I was more in control – I didn’t need the wheel to create something I wanted. This made me realize how important control is for me, and why I feel disappointed whenever there are situations that I couldn’t control. With that realization, I also realized how much I need to surrender to God and accomplish what He wants, not what I want.

 As I was creating my coffee mug, I asked the pottery teacher why he would always remind us to breathe during the pottery. He then explained that breathing makes us feel relaxed, and we will create better, because our hands will have a better control. As I pondered on it, I felt that God reminded me that He is not just the Potter, but the Giver of breath – to whom I can rest. 

That week was tiring emotionally, but it was a reminder that I can surrender to my Potter and my Life-giver.