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On a Sunday afternoon, I sit on one end of the sectional, reading, and she sat on the other end, crocheting. I watched as she carefully transformed the wool, slowly, as she scrutinized her work. After several rows were completed, she began to look more carefully, examining each row, and then made her decision –

She tore it all out and started over again.

Life is like that at times. We go through our days, carefully planning the time out so as to make the most of our day. There are days, we put our heads on our pillows with a contented sigh, knowing the day went smoothly and much was accomplished.

And then there are those days, when nothing seemed to go well or smoothly. We long for a chance to do it all over again.

God knows exactly how we feel. In speaking to Jeremiah, God instructs Jeremiah to go down to the potter’s house for a first hand lesson …

“So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay and started over.” (Jeremiah 18:1-4, NLT)

Why is it we equate starting over, or do-over’s, as failure?

At those times when a do-over is called for, may we remind ourselves …

We are but clay in His hands.

“And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8, NLT)**

He has purpose in the crushing and starting over process. May we not fight Him, struggling against His hand. He knows what He is forming …

“Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?” (Romans 9:20-21, NLT)

Let me return to the crocheting happening on our couch. She had pulled out the completed rows. Rows which had taken much time that afternoon so she could start over. She knew what was in her head, having a picture of near perfection in mind. She started over, and painstakingly with the same wool, only this time, the wool became a thing of beauty.

Know why our God often seems to crush and start over with the canvas of our lives?

“He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory.”
(Romans 9:23, NLT)

Let that sink in.

Do-overs often lead to “Done!”

All for His glory.

 

Today I am joining … Thought Provoking Thursday and Woman 2 Woman and Everyday Jesus .