I have always wanted to study the art of pottery making; so when we visited a potter’s house in Addis Ababa last week, my heart beat for joy. Actually, my hubby and I have visited this place three times over the years, and each trip is just as wonderful as the first. I watched in amazement as the women built by hand each piece, even the bigger pieces like these above. They don’t have a wheel, yet the pots are so perfect and beautiful.

The morning light streamed into the potter’s dark hovel softly. The women seemed settled and content to work in the partial light. Their hands formed the vessels in silence.

I let the group walk ahead of me, and I soaked in the moment–the art, the talent, the light, their enterprising, simple industry, the women, and the sheer delight and privilege of being there. I raised my heart quietly and thanked God for opening the door.

I tried to image what… what if I had been born in a potter’a role in Ethiopia? What if my only world would be the dark hovel, the dim morning light, the clay, and the vessels. Day. After. Day. Would I stretch out my arms to God in different circumstances as I do now? Would I harden my heart against him?

But God’s ways are higher. They are perfect. As he molds me into his own image, he is aware of where I am, and the steps that I take. He has written all the days of my live in his book, and his thoughts toward me are as numerous as the sand on the shore.  His ways are full of love and goodness. All I know is that I comfort myself with his word when I don’t have answers. And the more I walk with him, the fewer questions I have, and even fewer answers.

But I do know that I can trust the Potter. That he has chosen to store within earthen pots, eternal treasures… that the glory would be all about him and not me. I feel so frail sometimes, often really…

Now we see only a dim likeness of things. It is as if we were seeing them in a mirror. But someday we will see clearly. We will see face to face. What I know now is not complete. But someday I will know completely, just as God knows me completely [2 Corinthians 13:12].