'Til Kingdom Come

Previously I discussed the starting process for throwing clay on a potter's wheel. Just as the clay must be centered on the wheel so must we too be centered in God's will to be formed into the right shape. So what makes for a good throwing clay?                                            Possibly the most crucial aspect of good clay is it's Plasticity. This is what determines how easy it is to mold and shape the clay. If you are working with a clay that is low in plasticity you will have to press hard and struggle against the clay to work it into the form that you are hoping for. What does it look like for me to bear the characteristic of plasticity? I ask myself  - Do I resist correction? Am I teachable? When things aren't going my way to I fight the change or try t...

This post is going to be the first in a series I want to do on pottery and the characteristics of clay and how hopefully help us meditate on this verse from Isaiah. But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. - Isaiah 64:8 A few years ago my friend Julie was taking a pottery class at Biola. I stopped by to visit her in the art studio. She was working on a project for class wherein she had to use a potter's wheel and throwing clay. I watched as she tossed a misshapen ball of clay on the wheel, wet her hands and set the wheel spinning. Her hands carefully and methodically guided the clay up and down forming a cylindrical shape. I watched her work for several minutes, my mind mesmerized by her slow and subtle workings on the clay. It wasn't long before this previously shapeless lump was beginning to take the form of a cup. Julie looked up at me, "You want to give it a try?" I chuckled but ha...

And why have you become disturbed within me? These lines come from the writer of the 42nd Psalm. This evening, as on many previous, those words resonated deep within me. I have been feeling anxious. Nothing all too new to me as I am nearly 12 years familiar with the dropping in my stomach, the icy hot tingling on the back of my neck and the feeling of dread and despair that quickens my pulse. What has become frustrating is that I cannot think of any particulars of which I am finding myself fearful. It could be many things, walking about my current home seeing boxes of my roommates things as he prepares to move out tomorrow is certainly a reminder of life's inevitable changes. Which on the forefront I rarely take delight. Could it be the stresses of looking for full time employment? The worries of never finding a loving spouse? The fear of failing the people to whom I have made commitments? Perhaps. These thoughts plague the minds of many at my age but I cannot help but t...