Wet Clay
December 4, 2011
4:07 p.m. CST
I've been thinking about something for a long time. I hear the same complaint from many people, both Christian and non-Christian. Why is life so hard, so difficult? Why do good people suffer?
I know why. WARNING! Analology!
About 15 years ago, when I was in college, I took a ceramics class. I learned a lot in that class, even though I became too sick to finish the course and had to quit. There was still something that stuck with me, and has stayed with me all these years. It helped me deal with many of the things I had to live through and survive even before I went to college. It helped me put things in perspective.
Sure, I learned how to mix the right amount of water with the clay powder. I learned how to make what's known as "slip". I learned how to attach separate pieces of molded clay to make a single object. I learned how to mold all manner of objects. I learned to to express creativity with the clay. I learned how to use a clay press. But the most interesting lesson involved a scientific law of chemistry that I still to this day don't completely understand.
One of the objects that we made in my ceramics class was a large clay pot. Since this large pot was so large and was theoretically supposed to be able to carry liquid when it was finished, the strength of the finished piece was tantamount. One must be confident that when the handle is gripped and the pot is lifted, the handle won't break off and the bottom of the pot won't become detached. One must also be confident that the main body of the pot won't crumble from the weight of itself or the contents.
Let's be clear. Clay is clay, and dried clay, of itself, does not contain that much strength. It crumbles easily. It breaks easily. No matter what means you use to attach two pieces of wet clay, the point of attachment is weaker than a single continuous piece of kneaded clay, and kneaded clay is not strong.
So how does a potter make a piece of pottery that can withstand normal usage and the pot doesn't break?
The simple answer is that they force the clay to stay wet for a long period of time, and dry s-l-o-w-l-y. When they finish forming the object, they cover it with plastic and let it set for a week or two. Every day they go back to their creation, momentarily remove the plastic sheeting, which may even be several sheets layered, and spray the object with more water. Sometimes they do this several times a day. The longer the object sets wet, and the longer it takes for it to dry slowly, the stronger the piece becomes, the more weight it can hold, and the more harsh treatment it can withstand when it's done!
I don't know the chemical laws involved in this, but it HAS TO BE THERE! It works.
It brought to mind the harsh things that some people live through, and have to survive. I'm not saying that it's good for these things to happen. I'm not saying that I take pleasure in the fact that bad, even horrific, things happen. I am saying that whoever and whatever God is, he has a use for us. He has a need for us to be strong. He needs us to be more than just decorative ornamentation in his kingdom. He takes no pleasure in our suffering. But he allows us to become stronger. And he allows us to choose whether or not to take the attitude that we will become stronger.
This life robs us of many things. But God never robs us of our right to choose how we will respond. He never withholds from us the ability to choose our attitude.
The things we suffer, we may not even physically survive. Survival may be just a spiritual or emotional term. It makes no difference. Even if we die, that strength of survival is still intact. Whatever we may become, that strength will always be there, and He will always find a use for us.
