“But, now, O Lord, Thou art our Father: We are the clay, and Thou are our potter: And we all are the work of Thine hand…” Isaiah 64:8

All along I knew what kind of a vessel I wanted to be. I had big dreams. It wasn’t hard for me to envision. I was called to brighten the world. I would be a vase setting in the foyer. I would hold lots of huge cheerful bouquets. I could make a big impact shining out to guests who entered there. Everyone would notice me. It was going to be great, and I couldn’t wait to get started.

I carefully started researching the bouquets I loved best. And I always came back to the same ones. I loved the country feel of wheat and sunflowers. I even tried growing those plants. I still couldn’t wait to get started.

Finally the day arrived. I watched with eager eyes as the Potter placed the clay on the wheel and prepared to throw “my” pot. The process looked so easy. I’d watched Him work with others. He was good at  His job. He specialized in making vases, so I knew exactly how it would go.

But it didn’t. As He pulled up the sides of the clay vessel, I realized that something was wrong. This wasn’t the dream vase I’d seen. I was horrified.

Before I could stop myself, I was taking over the Potter’s wheel. With trembling hands, I took the clay and changed the look of the vessel. I’d seen Him do it so often, I knew I could… The wheel spun faster and faster and soon my clay was out of control. It was totally lopsided and finally collapsed on the wheel all together.

The wheel slowly spun to a stop. I sat there looking at my dreams and was overcome by the devastation in front of me… I cried big salty tears as I watched my ideas of perfection slowly ooze across the wheel…

But the great big Hands of the Potter covered mine. We took the wrecked vessel and threw it again and slowly together we started pulling up another vessel. This time I didn’t resist when it became apparent that it still wouldn’t be my dream vase. This time, I let His skillful fingers work into the character of the clay. And although I still fought a tear or two, I felt a measure of excitement again..

Finally, I had the nerve to ask “What are you making”

“My daughter, this is going to be a serving bowl. I have a lot of vases and I chose you to serve this way.”

The news shouldn’t have shocked me… I had one more question… “But what about the sunflowers and the wheat that I’m already growing for my bouquets. I can’t let them go to waste. They’re beautiful.”

He wiped His Hands, and we walked out to my garden. There He took the wheat and the sunflowers and He showed me how to crush them. And He gave me a Bread recipe that included crushed sunflower seeds and  of course, lots of wheat…

And in that moment- I realized that He’d been preparing me to serve all along, and really- how many more people could I touch by serving, rather than shining…

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Life isn’t always as we picture it is it? I love resting in the assurance that He is writing my story to use me in the best possible way… As long as I can keep my big ideas from trainwrecking His plans…

Blessings to you as He “pulls up” the vessel best suited for you,

Kendra

Bonus Pic:

#10 for my #30for30 was make a piece of pottery… (Guess where the inspiration and all the attempts at correct lingo for this blog came from) And apparently our neighbor has had a pottery business in her garage for years… So she treated Karen (our current Fresh Air Guest) and me to a very educational experience! I learned so much! My mug is currently waiting to get fired… Pic of the finished product coming later… And if you need a piece of pottery for any occasion, Mrs Carol Miller is the lady to see 🙂