Clay

A simple lump of clay
Sitting, reserved
For only the Artist
So that one day
He would start to shape it
Using it to create something beautiful.

He had promised it to me,
Whatever He was going to make.
I was excited;
He had always made beautiful things,
And now He was going to make something,
Something for me.

Soon He began to use this clay
Making it into…
Well no one really knew
Exactly what He was making
At first it looked flat and smooth
But then later it started to curve...
So I gave up trying to guess what it was.

I decided to ask Him what it would be.
He just looked at me, smiled, and said,
"My child, be patient, you will know in time.
Don't you trust me?"

It was hard for me to wait for Him to finish it;
I wanted so badly to know what it would become.
But I did trust the Artist
And knew He would let me know
What it was when He was ready to tell me.

Two days later I decided I would see how it was going.
I thought I would just peek in on Him
You know, see what it looked like now .

When I looked through the door,
All I found was an empty room
And in the middle, on a stand,
Sat a delicate cup and saucer.

I was so confused as I gazed at it.
As I had expected,
The He had shaped it
And had put it in the kiln,
But it was so plain.
He had not started to glaze it
Or paint it with an intricate design.

Over the next two days
I would peek in on the room,
The room in which sat the cup and saucer;
And every day the room was empty
And the pair was as plain as it had always been;
Plain, unglazed and un painted.

On the third day
I went again to peek on the little cup and saucer,
And again I found it untouched and unpainted.
I knew that the Artist was still in the shop;
I saw Him everyday,
I talked with Him everyday,
But we never talked about the cup and saucer.

So later that day I went to Him,
I asked Him why he had not painted the pair.
He only looked at me, smiled, and said,
"My Child, you must be patient.
You know I love you and only want to give you my best.
You must learn to trust me. "

I told Him I would try.
I thought I could be patient;
For a little while longer anyway.

For some reason,
Later that day,
I decided to go and look into the room,
Just to see if He had started to work on it again.

What I found left me feeling upset;
The cup and saucer remained untouched.
I decided that maybe,
Maybe if I started to paint it,
Then maybe the He would start to work on it.

So I went and gathered the glazes and the brushes,
The ones I though would be correct
For such a beautiful delicate project.

I decided I would start with the saucer.
The moment I picked it up,
A part of it chipped.
I didn't know what to do;
I felt so ashamed.
I knew I should have let the Artist do it.

A few minutes later He came in,
My Artist, the one whom I loved so dearly,
The one who had made this delicate gift for me.
I sheepishly told Him the whole story.
When I had finished He said nothing.
But, seeing that I was truly sorry,
He picked up the saucer and fixed it.

He made it look as if I had never chipped it,
And He told me that I should have waited and trusted Him.
He told me that His hands were the only hands
That could touch the pair in this stage.

I'll never know how He did it,
But from that day on
I've tried very hard to be content with the things
He does tell me,
And be content waiting for my cup and saucer.

No,
He still hasn't finished it,
But I trust that His hands will take care of it
And turn it into a beautiful creation.