Suddenly I see...: Clay in His hands

This semester I took a ceramics class, which was really fun, but also a lot of work too!

The first picture is of the pinch pot, pods, and rattles I had to make. ( Along with my Blush&Bashful ipod, which helped me survive the long hours I had to put in for the class this semester).

My favorite thing I did this semester was learning throwing or the legit potter's wheel. I was terrible at it at first (still not an expert for sure!) and I had to practice a ton in order to get the hang of it. Unfortunately

after all my hours of practice, the class was ending and had to meet a deadline for getting everything
done. I learned a lot of valuable lessons on that wheel though. Most of them stem from one of my favorite songs based on the scripture from

Isaiah 64:8 " But now, O Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay and thou art our potter; and we are all the work of thy hand"

I found that at first I needed a lot of instruction and guidance when I first got started. Just like I need Help and guidance.

   I found that it took A LOT of patience to work on even one piece, which often did not even turn out quite right. He is very patient with us. One of the most important and vital steps in starting on the wheel is making sure that the clay is centered. If not everything gets thrown off balance later and you end up with a lopsided piece usually. He has carefully placed us and we are centered on His wheel of focus.

   One small mistake and I would have to some how fix it or start over again. Thankfully clay like our Father in Heaven is very forgiving. Every time I would have to start over again I would have to let the clay rest and dry out a bit, but it would always be more pliable or easier to work with on the wheel. Just like every time we go through a trial and turn to the Lord it can soften us up a bit.

   When you work with clay it is basically ground up dirt and can be very rough on your hands, which means you either get a great exfoliation to make your hands smooth or some abrasions. I definitely received more of the latter, which means my own sweat and blood went into my pieces! Just as Christ bled for us in striving to refine our lives. It amazes me really that I was able to make anything really, but I didn't give up. Neither will He give up on you. Although my pieces were not the most attractive ever I was really proud of my work and I see great value and potential in them. It is so cool how we can create a piece of clay into a masterpiece. That is what He is trying to do with us if we let Him work from a mound of clay up to an elegant vase.

We had to make a reliquary of sorts. I made one to hold the jewelry(mostly rings) that my Grammie gave me. It has the scripture from Proverbs 31 inscribed on the front. This was the scripture my father read and used to describe what kind of a lady she was at her funeral. The tree is to represent family and has her initials along with my Grandad's etched into it. (Which also happen to be my initials too!)