You Are The Clay

"The only way you can change your man, is if he is wearing a diaper." I stumbled upon that quote recently on social media and despite men being the butt of the joke (pun intended), I admittedly found a lot of humor in the statement. Often times in relationships, we think we can somehow force or even coerce people to be different. 100% of the time however, we will fail.

To the chagrin of ladies everywhere, none of you hold nearly that much authority or control over the opposite sex. Sure, we can influence the lives of others positively or negatively in many ways, but we certainly can't change that person into something else...into someone else. Not truly and not completely.

I remember as I kid, I loved going to the zoo. The animals were great, but like most kids I loved the gift shop and souvenirs as well. I'm not sure about the zoo where you live, but the zoo closest to where I grew up, had machines scattered throughout the park, where for a small fee you could have a plastic mold made of various animals (Mold-A-Matic/Mold-A-Rama Machines). The machines were strategically placed near the animal exhibits the mold was creating. The large glass front of the machine allowed a chubby little kid like me to stand on my tippy toes to see the huge metal press doing it's thing.

I watched as the press came together, then hot plastic poured in the center, and a few moments later, from the mold emerged a plastic figurine, which at least reasonably resembled the animal it purported to create. For a buck or two, it wasn't a bad gift and there was something neat about the process of the hot liquid plastic turning into a solid souvenir before my eyes.

When I recently read a bible study of Jeremiah 18, the above memories came to my mind. I particularly love the following, "You are like clay in the potters hands and I am the potter." (A portion of Jeremiah 18:6). Those passages remind us of our place in relation to our Creator. Clay can't take shape without the skill of the potter. However, when clay is held close and remains in the hands of the potter, wonderful creations take shape.

God in His infinite wisdom believed the world needed one of you. Yes, you. You need to know you can't change yourself, your circumstances, or your life without God. You certainly can't change others. However, you can stay close to the one who created you. You can submit to the artist who beautifully designed you as the wonderful masterpiece you are.

If you desire change, if you want to be different, simply remember, He is the Potter and you are the clay.
Much Love, Adam

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