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Handiwork

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

The holidays are tough. Yes, it’s a time of celebration and remembrance and family. But it’s also a time when those without family, whose memories are sad or tragic suffer the most. All the reminders of what should’ve been or could’ve been or, more likely, the fantasy presented that has never been can be overwhelming. But the holidays can be a time when God uses our pain to shape us like a potter shaping clay.

Making pottery is not a gentle process. There is much pounding and poking and squeezing and pinching that goes on. There is water and spinning. Near the end things can be more gentle and delicate as the finishing touches are applied…just before the piece goes into a raging inferno. Being the work of God’s hand is not easy on us either. There is pain and pounding and pinching and squeezing and just when the beauty is beginning to show it is tested by fire.

As we begin this Advent season in preparation for the coming Christ child check your holiday assumptions. Be open to the work God is doing in your life right now even if it includes the firm hand of the Potter doing a little pounding on the clay.

Prayer
Father, you are the Potter and I am the clay. Mold me and make me what you want me to be. Use this season of anticipation to continue shaping me according to your will. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.