A Pottery Lesson

Read Psalm 46

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 (NRSV)

THIS summer I took a beginners' pottery class. My instructor made it seem effortless as she showed us how to center the clay on the wheel and then pull up a beautifully formed mug. However, when it was my turn, I learned that using the wheel was not easy. I wasted a lot of clay in my first attempts. As I fought with the clay, struggling and trying to force it into obedience, I became impatient and frustrated.

Seeing my frustration, my instructor suggested that I stop struggling. She told me to close my eyes, feel the clay, and relax. As I tried this, I could feel the clay finding its midpoint. I was no longer forcing it into submission but allowing it to center. From that moment on I was able to create better pieces of pottery.

My life with God has been like my experience with the pottery. Sometimes I struggle to find my direction. I worry whether I am really being obedient to God's will, doing all that I should be doing for God. But when I relax and focus on who God is and sense God's presence, my life suddenly feels right. I am at peace. I have come back to the center, to the truth of who I am and who God is. Having discovered the center, I can live in the confidence that God is guiding me.

Jan Cox (Ontario, Canada)

O God, thank you for being the center of our lives. Thank you for calming our hearts and helping us feel at one with you. Amen.

How do I keep God the center of my life?

Potters

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