Life Is What You Make It

Once, while living in VA, I took a pottery class for a couple of weeks to learn how to make simple things like a bowl or a small ashtray type thing. It was fun but it was extremely challenging as well.

I remember when I first signed up I was so excited to think that I could actually create something beautiful out of a lump of clay that wasn't there before.

The thought of being able to mold that blob of goo into a new creation and set it on my table at home was exhilarating to me.

I went early and waited for the others to gather, then we all followed the teacher in and took our places. As I looked around, I wondered if they were all as excited and anxious as I was. Most of them appeared to be as we smiled at each other and put on our aprons.

After the teacher showed us what to do at her wheel, the time came for us to set out on our own and create a masterpiece (or so I thought, lol).

She went around the classeroom and handed each of us our clumps of clay and instructed us to place in on the wheel in front of us and begin when she instructed.

As I looked at my clay, I couldn't help but think it was smaller than the one she'd worked with when giving her demonstration. I looked to my left and saw that my classmates had bigger clumps than I did and I immediately wondered if the size of mine would affect the outcome of my project.

She began telling us to place them on the wheel and how to position our hands and how to press the pedal and I started to panic. The thought of not having enough clay to make my beautiful creation was causing me to wonder if I could have what they all would have in the end.

When she paused to allow for questions, I raised my hand and explained that my lump of clay seemed to be a lot smaller than the others and that I was worried that I wouldn't be able to create something as nice as the others could out of it what I'd been given.

She smiled and assured me that it didn't matter how big or small our lump was, it was all in what we did with it after it was given to us.

Well, that didn't settle my mind at all but I forged ahead and began to “wedge” my clay. I slowly started to spin my wheel and then just when I felt as if I was getting the hang of it all, I must have gotten a little too self-assured and I pressed the pedal harder with my foot and the wheel spun out of control, throwing the clay off center and wrecking the round piece that I had “created”. At that point in time, it was really nothing, but it felt like it was to me because it wasn't the square clump I had started with, lol.

In my frustration, I stopped the wheel, gathered my clay and wedged it so I could work with it again.

Over the next hour, I did that many times and grew increasingly frustrated. I thought I'd never get it right and make something beautiful to take home. I was glancing around at the others who seemed to be catching on and progressing really well. I could actually see a bowl shaping up on their wheels, while I still had something that looked like a rock. I was upset and I wanted to chuck it and leave.

The teacher could tell I was aggravated and she came over and helped me one on one and guided me through the process. She explained to me that centering the clay was the most important step and keeping it centered during the process was key. If the clay got off by even a half inch, it would throw everything off and the project would halt and I'd have to get back on track, costing valuable time.

I kept that in mind as she explained that working with clay was tedious sometimes but worth it in the end. She told me that it wasn't a race that we were running to see who finished first but rather a journey to create something beautiful that we could look back on and be proud of years later.

I nodded, smiled, and continued to work.

Needless to say, after several classes of making mistakes and starting again, I finally ended up with a cute little bowl that sat at somewhat of an angle but it was mine. It wasn't perfect but it was something that I created with my own two hands and with the help of my teacher.

I asked her on the last day of class why she had given me the smallest clump of clay. She shrugged her shoulders and said that it wasn't on purpose but that it didn't matter how big it was, something beautiful can be made out of whatever you have to work with. She was right. My bowl was beautiful to me. It was smaller than everyone else's but it brought me as much joy as theirs did to them and it served the same purpose as theirs did.

That taught me a valuable lesson in life.

It doesn't matter how much you have or what you have to work with. It matters what you do with it. Life can hand you a small amount of "clay" but you can still make something beautiful out of it if you work at it.

I've had many things happen in my life that others would view as hindrances or setbacks in getting ahead. I've been homeless and lost many things, but I've found that the amount of "clay" I possess is enough to make something beautiful in the end. It's just up to me to make it.

I've watched others who thought they had to have a ton of money to make life great or a bigger house to make life great and I've actually felt sorry for them. In their pursuit to have the biggest and the best, they've just worn themselves out.

All you need to do is take what you've been given and make something beautiful out of that.

Like my teacher in the class, God knows how much "clay" to give you in life and what you can do with it. He has faith in you that you can take what little you have and create a beautiful life. I know I did and mine is just as good for me as my neighbor who lives in his million dollar home.

Life is what you make it.

There are other lessons in this story as well. Our teacher in life is the Holy Spirit. When we are frustrated and feel that we aren't getting it right, He comes to us and guides us on how to do it right. When we feel like giving up because we've seemingly made a mess of things, He encourages us to go on, letting us know that we are not alone. He is right there with us.

I know this to be true in my life. There have been many times that I've messed up and was frustrated because I wasn't “perfect” like I thought God required, but the Spirit of God let me know that He loves me even when I'm not perfect.

That is not to say that perfection shouldn't be our goal because it should. But perfection is something we won't attain here on Earth. That will come in Heaven. Here, we can try our best to walk before God with a clean heart, full of love for Him and if we make mistakes, like the teacher, He will come to us and show us the right way to do things.

I was reminded of this tonight when I was scrolling through social media looking at the tons of Christmas gifts some of my friends got. I thought of those who don't have the ability to "get and give" a ton of presents to each other. I thought about how life seems to have smiled on some with their big houses, lots of money, fancy cars and tons of gifts. And then I thought how you can have happiness if you really want it by having Jesus as your Savior.

There's nothing wrong with having things, as long as things don't "have" you. Put God front and center and you can make something beautiful out of your life, no matter how big your "clay" is. Keep your life centered around Him, like the teacher taught us with the clay and what you end up with will be just as beautiful as those who have the largest lump of clay around.

It's not about what you start with, it's about what you finish with. Give your heart to Jesus and keep Him in the center and at the end, you can look back and be proud of what you and He have created.

Much love,

Christy

Daughter of God

Helpful Verses:

Matthew 6:33; John 16:13; Romans 3:10; Psalms 51:10