i'm sore. the last 48 hrs has been full of physical activities. this is a testament to how out of shape i am.

on sunday after church, i had my usual pottery practice time. it's been very peaceful and almost serene to do hand work. it's been a blessing really. then i went on to biking in governor's island. that was not too bad. at least i didn't fall. but with retro bikes, they were hard. i wasn't too sore afterwards. i thought that was a good sign.

then last night, i had my first hand wheeling pottery class (still part of the same class). the teacher was showing us, step by step, how you mold, manipulate the clay. it looked SO EASY! i thought, wow, this is so much fun and easy. i'm going to go nuts.

3 hours later, splattered with clay, my arms, hands, fingers, shoulder blades, back, legs, everything was sore. forget biking. this is harder than any sport! i cannot believe how tiring hand wheeling is. it is not easy. it is not even remotely serene nor is it pleasant. usually during the 3 hr class, i take a break to munch on something or drink something. i could do neither. i was totally focused and still messed up 3 bowls - none of which were close to resembling a bowl. i was exhausted, splattered all over, just plain tired.

and the whole time i kept thinking isaiah 64:8

But now, O LORD, you are our Father;

we are the clay, and you are our potter;

we are all the work of your hand.

one thing about hand wheeling is that as you build you bowl (all starts out with a bowl, then to vases, mugs, what-have-yous), you have to keep an eye on the center and make sure the center does not get wobbly. it's a constant and tiring process. you cannot just hope that you just build it up (physically - taller) and that to your eye, it looks good, but it's not - it's lacking the core.

figuratively, i understand that verse. now that i'm the potter, i cannot fathom how our father has created, continues to mold us, tirelessly, to center us, to keep us from wobbling...wow, and he doesn't give up, does he!

so sore...