In the Hands of the Potter- by Alejandra Orellano

Jeremiah 18:1-7

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:  “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.”  So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel.  But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

 Then the word of the Lord came to me.  He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.  If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed,

Clay has a process.

— The clay goes through extraction and preparation

The mud is obtained from mines or natural deposits, then it is cleaned by removing all impurities such as stones, roots or other impurities.

First, God takes us out of the world and begins to cleanse us, removing everything we brought from the world.

—Kneading:

It is mixed with water to create a moldable paste. It is important to eliminate bubbles and ensure that the clay has the right consistency to be molded.

God gives us the Holy Spirit to be able to remove everything that does not allow us to be molded.

- Molding:

Molding shapes the clay.
The Holy Spirit begins to mold us as the potter shapes the clay, but the potter does not make just one form of work but makes different forms with the clay, for example, he makes griddles, pots, vessels, etc. In the same way, God does with us, he begins to shape us, but not all of us have the same form because we all have different callings, but we are made by the same potter and the same hands, as in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 it tells us that we are one body but with different functions.

— Drying:

The molded clay is then left to dry to remove all the moisture and acquire hardness, but this process takes time. Not all clay pieces take the same amount of time to dry; some take longer than others, and there are others that break and have to return to the potter's hands.

We also have trials and we struggle to overcome them. Some take longer than others and are more difficult. Many times we cannot withstand the trials and we break and have to return to the hands of God so that He can mold us again.

— Cooking:

The clay piece is placed in the oven and subjected to high temperatures, transforming the clay piece into it’s final form for the Potter’s purpose. It is now resilient and durable. Ready to with stand it’s purpose.

We often go through trials we think we'll never survive, but often it's so we can learn and become resilient so we can help those in need.