Dear Family.
In high school, I took a pottery class. This opening statement feels like what most people do in high school, but you do not understand me very well. I am not artistic. I can not draw, paint, or sculpt. A significant part of it is due to my ADHD and my dyslexia. My brain struggles in areas that use left and right brain activities. Anything with hand-eye coordination is complicated for me. Even typing this letter is a struggle.
What I loved about this pottery class was the potter’s wheel. I loved to take a lump of clay and shape it. First, one throws the clay forcefully into the wheel’s center to ensure the clay is attached correctly. Then, you center the clay, make an opening, and start to shape your creation.
This activity is very sensory-filled. You take your hands and wet them with water. It gets messy. With the water, the clay becomes almost buttery. The wheel turns, and the clay turns in your hands as it takes shape. To me, all one’s senses are affected. The wet clay has an odor, and the sound of the wheel is rhythmic. The water mixed with the clay is fantastic to my touch. Watching the clay take shape as it spins at times becomes an optical illusion as it turns. Occasionally, the water splashes and one can taste the clay; this may be the only part of the process that is not enjoyable.
In Jeremiah 18: 5-6, we read the following. “Then the word of the Lord came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.” I remember the first time I read this, and my time in pottery class flooded back.
This image that I was miry clay and that Jesus was shaping me. There are times when He slams me onto the solid rock. He makes sure I stay centered on the rock. His hands are heavy when making sure I am centered, and then as He shapes me, His hands become more gentle.
What is most profound to me is the water. The water Jesus uses at first is His tears. Jesus wept over me as I was destroying myself with my sin. His tears are living water that gave me eternal life. But what I noticed as the Father was shaping me, I often cried. Jesus also used my tears in His hands to shape me.
I am thankful for all the tears Jesus shed over me and my personal tears of healing. He still uses tears to continue to shape me. Today, I am grateful for what Jesus does in my life, even if I am undeserving.
This Sunday is “Thankful Sunday”. Each of you can share what Jesus has done in your life. Are you ready to bring glory to what Jesus has done in your life? Remember, our testimonies are God’s story in our lives; let those stories shine before men.
I look forward to hearing all the amazing things Jesus has done. See you at 9:30
In Him,
Pastor Chris