At times you think you have everything under control. But then you find yourself muffled; no words are good enough, no actions are right enough.

Judgment is what you accept, beating yourself up over your shortcomings and struggles.

Why can’t you be just like everyone else? Perfect.

Sadly, you resort to condescending whispers all echoing how you don’t compare.

Life has a tendency of drawing us closer to the altar of personal punishment.

But it’s the wrong altar!

The K.I.S.S. ~ O come to the altar!

Where God’s arms are open wide. What you have done yesterday, two years ago, or will do tomorrow, God loves you!

“Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” ~ Isaiah 64:8

Have you ever watched what goes into the making of pottery?

I remember doing it years and years ago (dinosaur years) when in elementary or middle school. But I never considered myself an artist, so I never learned anything more about it until I got older.

The potter takes a lump of clay with no shape or purpose. The color is really ugly too, just a neutral color with no sparkle. As the potter holds the clay, he begins to knead it and shape it into a simple round-like clump.

The clay is placed on the wheel, but not just anywhere. The clay must be perfectly centered as the wheel spins. Once the clay is positioned and compressed, then it’s ready to cone it up. That’s when the initial shaping begins.

Movement has to be consistent. With constant spinning and keeping it wet, the precision of opening up the clay starts. Beginning from the center, the clay is pulled apart keeping a solid foundation. Then the lifting of the clay begins, pulling it in an upward direction creating its basic shape.

Designing this masterpiece takes pulling and stretching, a concentrated pressure to shape the clay just as the potter sees fit.

What you’ve been fighting lately? Maybe yourself, trying to fit it, being someone that you’re not.

O come to the altar. You don’t have to prove anything. God has shaped you and will continue to hold you up. He will mold you into who you are to be. He will keep you centered with endurance to carry you through.

God’s plan for you is greater than anything you can imagine. Trust in His ways lean on His understanding. Allow your mishaps and misfortunes to become opportunities for refinement.

Be cautious not to pave your own path. Be alert and attentive to the direction God leads. Your plan may fail, but God always succeeds.

Don’t fret what God sustains.

“O come to the altar!”