"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb."
Once upon a time, there was a master Potter. He was the best potter in all the land. Sometimes he made bowls. Whenever he finished making a bowl he would take it in his hands and look at it. “Perfect!” he would say. “You are just perfect for a bowl. I shall put you to use holding soup.” And he would use his bowls to serve soup to his guests.
Sometimes he made cups. Whenever he finished making a cup he would take it in his hands and exclaim, “What a magnificent cup! I shall put you to use holding drinks.” And he would serve his guests their drinks from the cups he had made.
Sometimes, he made plates. Whenever he finished making a plate, he would say, “How exquisite! You are perfect for holding salads and sandwiches and other foods. I shall put you to use holding such things.” And he would serve meals to his guests on the plates he had made.
One day, the Potter was admiring the work of his hands and noticing how beautiful each piece was. None of them was the same, and each had its purpose. Suddenly, a cup began to speak to him. “Potter, you messed up. Look at me, I’m hideous! My colors are all wrong, my handle sticks out too far, and I’m utterly useless. No one could ever eat a salad out of me. Don’t you care at all? How could you have made such a horrible thing?” And the cup began to cry.
Just then a plate spoke up. “You messed up when you made me, too. I’m flat and ugly and if you put soup on me, it will run right off onto your tabletop.” And the plate turned away and started feeling sorry for itself.
A bowl also said to the Potter, “You messed up. I am neither flat enough to hold a sandwich, nor cupped enough for someone to comfortably drink liquids out of me. What a horrible, disgusting thing I am!” And the bowl got angry with the Potter for his thoughtlessness.
The Potter was very unhappy with the way the pottery was speaking. Hadn’t he taken his time with each piece to make it perfect? Hadn’t he then designated a specific use for each? And now the beautiful dishes he had made were taking turns insulting him and his work.
Don’t we do this every day? We look at ourselves and say, “I’m ugly, I’m useless. I am not just like Joe over there who can juggle oranges and apples. I can’t sing like Sue and I don’t know a single thing about Sri Lanka. Gosh, all I can do is cut grass.”
When we say these things, we are insulting our Creator. He made each of us, gave us specific uses and said of each one of us, “How wonderful! I am a good Potter.” What business do we have telling the master Potter that he made an awful cup? Especially when we ourselves are that cup. What does a cup know of beauty or usefulness? Nothing! So it is for the Potter to say, “This is a beautiful and useful dish. I have done a good job.” And it is for the cup to nod in agreement
"Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching."
Click here for my parental wisdom page. What my mother has to say about:
- worrying about marriage/ the future
- dealing with death
- feeling unworthy of praying for others
