A Ceramic Potter's Hands.
How can you tell?
How can you tell?
I have three beautiful grandchildren. I love watching them grow, every time I see them they have grown in some way. They are eager to show me something new, a new word, a drawing or an acomplshment. I see their desire to learn and grow, to do things like their older siblings or their parents. I watch their hands try to do things which at first just don't seem to work right. Finally they resort to just swinging hoping something good will come of it. We all laugh, but they don't see it as funny! Poor things.
As an artist I am interested in hands. It is the hands that obey our minds and mold the clay, paint the painting, cook the food, handle the hammer or play that beautiful aria on the piano. I look at my own hands and wonder how they do it. I'm amazed how the are made, how they work. I am in awe.
Any child attempting to do things with their hands will get frustrated. But, they do not give up. The saying "doing leads to knowing" actually works. We, who are older have discovered this truth, for we have tried and tried and have accomplished the skill to tie our shoes, play the piano or form the lump of clay into something amazing. This is a culture I try to create in my art classes..."we learn by doing" over and over again. It's so exciting to open our sketchbooks in class to see what the amazing hands of my students have been doing and learning.
The fact of the matter is, we ourselves have been so wonderfully made by another pair of skillful hands! In Genesis 2:7 it reads this way, "Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground..."
I know, it's shocking is it not? We have been originally "formed" by the "Lord God", meaning the creative beautiful perfectly gifted hands of God formed and created us, you and me from dust, the clay of the earth.
That means something very special. We've been "hand made"! People pay a lot for anything "hand made"! The reason for this is that there is a direct connection with the creator and what they have made, it's unique, one of a kind. In this case God's hands have created you and me. We are formed in His unique style. His fingerprints are all over us. God's style is unmistakable and we, like it or not, are each of us, one of a kind, made in His image, in his obvious and unmistakable style.
What that means is that we are valuable! Made by the greatest potter ever! His resume includes having made everything we see. It means we are perfectly made since He's the potter with the most perfectly skilled hands ever! And...here's the kicker, He himself, the creator of the universe, likes, sorry, let me correct that, "loves" what he's made. Each of us unique and different is loved by Him! Wow. How much better can it get!
As I look at my grandchildren and I can see all of that in them. And one day, they too will use those little hands God gave them to create new and beautiful things on their own. They cannot help it, they will naturally create, imitating their creator. They are precious, they are"Hand Made." Amazing!
As an artist I am interested in hands. It is the hands that obey our minds and mold the clay, paint the painting, cook the food, handle the hammer or play that beautiful aria on the piano. I look at my own hands and wonder how they do it. I'm amazed how the are made, how they work. I am in awe.
Any child attempting to do things with their hands will get frustrated. But, they do not give up. The saying "doing leads to knowing" actually works. We, who are older have discovered this truth, for we have tried and tried and have accomplished the skill to tie our shoes, play the piano or form the lump of clay into something amazing. This is a culture I try to create in my art classes..."we learn by doing" over and over again. It's so exciting to open our sketchbooks in class to see what the amazing hands of my students have been doing and learning.
The fact of the matter is, we ourselves have been so wonderfully made by another pair of skillful hands! In Genesis 2:7 it reads this way, "Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground..."
I know, it's shocking is it not? We have been originally "formed" by the "Lord God", meaning the creative beautiful perfectly gifted hands of God formed and created us, you and me from dust, the clay of the earth.
That means something very special. We've been "hand made"! People pay a lot for anything "hand made"! The reason for this is that there is a direct connection with the creator and what they have made, it's unique, one of a kind. In this case God's hands have created you and me. We are formed in His unique style. His fingerprints are all over us. God's style is unmistakable and we, like it or not, are each of us, one of a kind, made in His image, in his obvious and unmistakable style.
What that means is that we are valuable! Made by the greatest potter ever! His resume includes having made everything we see. It means we are perfectly made since He's the potter with the most perfectly skilled hands ever! And...here's the kicker, He himself, the creator of the universe, likes, sorry, let me correct that, "loves" what he's made. Each of us unique and different is loved by Him! Wow. How much better can it get!
As I look at my grandchildren and I can see all of that in them. And one day, they too will use those little hands God gave them to create new and beautiful things on their own. They cannot help it, they will naturally create, imitating their creator. They are precious, they are"Hand Made." Amazing!
“I would rather be what God chose to make me
than the most glorious creature that I could think of;
for to have been thought about,
born in God's thought,
and then made by God,
is the dearest, grandest and most precious thing
in all thinking.”
George MacDonald
than the most glorious creature that I could think of;
for to have been thought about,
born in God's thought,
and then made by God,
is the dearest, grandest and most precious thing
in all thinking.”
George MacDonald
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