Thankful for the open airplane seat beside me on a nine-hour flight, I stacked pillows and blankets into a makeshift bed across 29A and 29B. With my black hoodie pulled tight, I slipped into a dark cocoon. A few hours later, tired and bored with inflight movies, a life review occurred 39,000 feet above earth.
- Life lived in peace and contentment? No.
- Tongue under control? Definitely not.
- Weight lost? Nope.
- Life purpose identified and pursued? Clueless.
Shortcomings and failures flooded my mind. Travel weariness, hunger, and tiny bathrooms contributed to a meltdown above the clouds. Arriving at the end of myself, I felt drained and depressed. While the engines roared over my muffled cries, God reached through the clouds and delivered truth wrapped in a warm embrace—I was His precious and beloved child.
Though I focused on problems, God saw possibilities and potential just like the clay in Jeremiah 18. He directed the prophet, Jeremiah, to the potter’s house for a field trip with a life lesson. “So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands” (Jeremiah 18:3-4 NIV). The lumpy mess wasn’t labeled unusable and tossed in the trash. Instead, it was shaped into another pot; one deemed best by the potter. “So the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him” (Jeremiah 18:4).
The Potter offers second chances, do-overs, and hope. He peeks into every corner of my marred life yet continues to love and mold me. Traveling at 496 mph, holy whisperings flowed into my heart. I see your struggles, I hear your cries, and together, we will find your footing.
Surrounded by strangers, a glorious realization and release occurred in 29A and 29B. Sad but not hopeless; lumpy and lopsided but so dearly loved. By the Potter’s hands, we are shaped into new creations: vases to hold beautiful red roses, water pitchers for cool water, and bowls filled with delicious fruit. Our best shape as determined by the Potter. “He said, ‘Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?’ declares the LORD. ‘Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel’” (Jeremiah 18:6).
Ding, ding.
The lit seat belt sign ended my hibernation. Sitting up, I dried my face and considered God’s truth in response to tears. He found me above the clouds and reminded me of His perfect truth. Valuable and loved, I was a masterpiece-in-the-making in the Potter’s hands.
