A while back, I signed up for a pottery class — one of those “sip something, spin some clay” situations. I’d watched people do this on Instagram, and they made it look effortless. Very aesthetic. Very soothing.
Our instructor walked us through the steps and made it sound super-easy. Before I even sat at the wheel, I started eyeing the shelf of student samples. One bowl caught my eye. It had delicate fluting, a symmetrical shape, and a gorgeous glaze.
“That’s what I’ll make,” I whispered to myself.
I’m nothing if not ambitious.
So I sat down at my wheel with a big glob of clay and not much in the way of natural talent.
Turns out, it’s a lot harder than it looks.
My masterpiece? A lopsided, slightly awkward little vessel. It was kind of charming, if you squint at it from one angle. Definitely not fluted. Definitely not shelf-worthy. But it was a vessel just the same — able to be filled and able to be used.
As I stared at that humble little pot, spinning slowly on the wheel, I thought of God, the Divine Potter.
Scripture calls our Lord the Potter. And guess who’s the clay?
Yeah, us. We are the clay. Humbling, am I right?
“But now, O Lord, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.”
Isaiah 64:8 ESV
God shapes our lives — sometimes through gentle nudging, sometimes through pressure, sometimes through starting over.
O.K. God. Cool. Sounds just fine in theory. But Oh. My. Word… how many times do we climb up onto that wheel ourselves, determined to be both the clay and the Potter?
We hustle.
We manage outcomes.
We set five-year plans.
We try to form a version of ourselves that looks more “shelf-worthy.”
Here’s the thing I’m learning:
We are not called to mold our lives into something impressive. We are called to yield to the Potter who is forming something eternal.
God gives us dreams, and FOR SURE, we can chase those dreams with boldness and hope. We can do cool stuff with the clay God gives us.
But make no mistake: We don’t shape God into our image. He shapes us into His.
Can I be honest? Sometimes the vessel that He gives me? Well … it looks …. off.
There are days I look at my life and think,
“This wasn’t the plan.”
“This isn’t what I pictured.”
“This isn’t what I prayed for.”
It doesn’t look pretty on the shelf.
Thank God for this truth right here: He is not after perfect vessels. He’s after surrendered clay. Even a crooked vessel, when formed by the Potter, can carry something sacred.
Our lives may not look like someone else’s on the shelf. But we were never meant to be mass-produced.
That’s true for me, and that’s true for you, my (in)courage friend. Your vessel, your life, is one-of-a-kind, purpose-filled, and capable of holding His Spirit.
Pray with me?
Here I am, Lord.
Clay in Your hands.
Mold me according to Your plans, not mine.
Shape me into something that carries Your glory, not my own.
Even when it’s messy. Even when it’s different than I imagined.
Amen.
Jennifer, your words bring to mind find memories of a local pottery studio. My husband & I spent a lot of date nights there painting the pre-made offerings for our home or as gifts. We also hung out there with friends’ kids so they could have date nights themselves. We never took a spin wheel class as I visualized my “perfectly symmetrical fluted vase” would be the kindergartener’s blob paperweight. I left the shaping & molding to the Masters. I pray as believers we participate with THE MASTER’s design by submitting to His design for each of us & rely on The Spirit to paint our vessel with the fruit of the Spirit making each one of us top shelf display worthy yet useful in each day to glorify our personal Potter! Blessings (((0)))
I love this analogy. I’m definitely a lopsided bowl. Thank You, God, for still filling me!