The Teacup

“Yet, O LORD, you are our Father.  We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” Isaiah 64:8

I heard a story once about a teacup that has truly resonated with me over the past several weeks, and I would like to share it here.

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The story goes that this little teacup was formed by the potter’s hands on a large spinning wheel.  Round and round, his hands lovingly formed each curve and indention until finally the potter stopped to eye his work.

“Not good enough, ” he said, then pounded the tiny cup back into a ball of clay to begin the reshaping process.  Finally, after much toil and thought, he took the tiny cup and placed it on a shelf to dry.

Days went by and the cup began to feel as if she was insignificant or unusable.  She had enjoyed the time she was in the hands of the potter, though the reshaping hurt a bit, but now it was as if he had forgotten her.

Finally, the day come when the potter took the little cup down from her shelf.  He lovingly painted a design on her sides, but then horror of all horrors!  He placed her in an oven and left her there.  Hotter and hotter it became.  The flames rose and licked her sides and she thought as if she would die right there in the fire.  Her friend, the potter, had once again forgotten her and left her to be consumed.  She could see him walking to and fro outside the oven door, but when she yelled for help, it was if he paid her no attention.

Finally, after feeling she could take no more, the potter quietly opened the door and pulled the tiny cup out of the oven and again, set her high up on the shelf.  “What is going on?” she thought.  “He must not care about me, for he only causes me pain.”

A few days later, the potter came back and took the little cup down from the shelf.  “Now, little one,” he said, “You are finally ready to be used.  If I had tried to pour tea in you before you were dry, your clay would have cracked.  That is why you had to sit on the shelf.  If I would have used you before the fire, your beautiful colors would not have shown so brightly.”

Looking at herself in the reflection of the saucer , she noticed what a beautiful china cup she was.  The  skilled artistry painted on her sides reflected the care of the potter who painted her.  She was truly a work of art lovingly crafted by the master.

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That story reminds me that when we feel as if God has shelved us or we are being put through the fire, He has a plan.  It is through these times of intense suffering, that we conform to what He is molding us to be and are being prepared for wonderful service to Him.

Wherever God has you right now, I pray that you are all there.  Allow Him to mold you and make you into His design…even when it hurts.

God bless!

Kristi