I am a wide-eyed treasure hunter. A noticer and curator of moments. Whatever the situation, conversation, or experience, I am looking for the deeper meaning, the lesson that I can apply to life.

I am several months into my pottery journey. I still have much to learn, but there is a growing collection of small bowls and “not quite big enough to be called a mug yet” items in my kitchen cabinet. I feel emotionally attached to these “clay babies” of mine and the lessons they have been teaching me. Here are a few…

If you want to be strong, you’re going to have to go through some fires.
When a vessel is first thrown, the clay has to be wet enough to make it glide through my hands as it spins on the wheel. Once the piece is made, it has to dry completely. At this point it is no longer malleable, but it is still weak. It is as easy to break with your fingers as a piece of shortbread. To become resilient, the piece must be fired in the kiln. Then it is stronger. Glaze the piece and fire it again, and you’ve got something truly tough. A glazed and fired bowl can go in the oven, the dishwasher, the freezer. It can hold water, even boiling water. It is fit for purpose.

Isn’t this true about us, as well? We grow up knowing some things, but we crumble under pressure until we go through some real fires. Each trial makes us stronger until we are at last fit for the purposes God has for us. Understanding this helps me have a transformed attitude when trials come my way. And oh, boy, don’t they just keep coming?

Flaws and imperfections make it interesting
When glazing the inside of a bowl, I thought I wanted a solid aquamarine color. I had a mishap and dripped some of the darker color from the outside of the piece on it. When it came out of the kiln it was so incredibly beautiful, I did the same thing on purpose with the lid I created for the bowl.

One of my favorite pieces from my first month is this thick-walled bowl that looks like a planet. It is so heavy and dense for its size – but I love the way the dark blue shines.

I have an uneven-walled-failed-mug dish. It has an unintentional divot in the side that randomly fits my hand. And it perfectly fits the “just right” serving of ice cream. Eating ice cream out of this weird dish brings me indescribable joy.

This is also true of people – don’t you agree? I appreciate the literal and figurative scars people are brave enough to not hide. Imperfections bring character and richness to life that a wrinkle-free face and a smooth life cannot compete with. LIFE IS RICH AND MARVELOUS AS WE SHARE OUR FLAWS

I’ve saved my favorite recent lesson for last:
MY CREATOR DELIGHTS IN ME
I’ve always known that God loves me. Never have I doubted that. But I have a new understanding.

At the pottery studio, all finished works are put on a certain set of shelves. And each time I am waiting for something to come out of the kiln, it is like hunting for treasure. Pieces can look much different than expected because the glaze changes colors, and the pieces shrink. Somtimes, I have to search by shape to find my creations.

I had three pieces to pick up one Saturday. The makes weren’t stellar, and I tried a new glaze combo that I chose in a haphazard manner. I stood there at the shelves, searching for them, and when my eye fell on them, I gasped. I couldn’t believe how much I loved the way they turned out. My heart was delighted!

So now, in addition to believing that God loves me, I am believing that He delights in me. The Creator of the universe delights in me. He delights in you, too!

I appreciate how all of these lessons work together: God has allowed me to go through some fires to build the strength He knows I need so that I’m fit for the purposes He has for me. And some of those purposes are tied to my flaws. It goes around and around like a pottery wheel.

What life lesson treasures can we find today?

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10