I Am A Bubbled and Broken Pot

I finally finished my first project in my ceramics today. At first I thought to myself, whey haven't I done this kind of class before? Heck, this could be a minor so I could teach art in public schools......Well let's just say it won't be my minor:) I like the class, I do. I love my classmates, especially the ones at my work table. We have a lot of fun in that class because we can talk and discuss whatever we want while we work. We have the craziest discussions about everything from spiritual beliefs to music. This particular assignment called for 3 pieces that work together using the negative and positive space and at least one piece is 18 inches high and 9 inches wide. I found the the clay can be difficult to work with and tended to get frustrated with it. The girl behind me actually crushed an entire piece she was working on because she got frustrated. Let's just say the teacher was a bit upset. I told the lab tech that I wanted to throw it at the wall and asked him if he ever felt that way. He said he had actually done it a few times:) I think I would end up more upset in the end if I ever did but oh well. Needless to say after about....15 plus hours on it I got it done. I expressed to my classmates that I could really relate to the passage in the Bible about the potter and the clay. A phrase we kinda came up with in my Bible study is, "I am a bubbled broken pot in the hands of the merciful Potter." My professor has stressed the importance of not creating air pockets so the pot doesn't bubble and shatter in the kiln. Needless to say many bubbles arise and you have to work them out of the clay. This analogy has never been more real to me. I just picture God getting so frustrated with me when bubbles arise in my life and Him wanting to throw me up against the wall for not being perfect. His love doesn't work that way though. He keeps working on the piece til it ready for use. That idea just became so much more real to me in the last couple of weeks. I am set to fire my pieces in the next week or so and we'll see how they holds up. Today I'm incredibly thankful my Potter didn't get frustrated with me like I do my works in class.