A Beautiful Creation

THE TEA CUP

There was a couple who used to go to England to shop in the beautiful stores. This was their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. They both liked antiques and pottery and especially teacups.

One day in this beautiful shop they saw a beautiful teacup. They said "May we see that? We've never seen one quite so beautiful." As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke. "You don't understand," it said. "I haven't always been a teacup.

There was a time when I was a ball of clay. My master took me and rolled me and patted me over and over and I yelled out, let me alone,' but he only smiled, 'Not yet'.

"Then I was placed on a spinning wheel," the teacup said, "and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. 'Stop it! I'm getting dizzy!' I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, 'Not yet.'

Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I wondered why he wanted to burn me, and I yelled, "Thus hurts!" And I knocked at the door. I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head, 'Not yet.'

"Finally the door opened, he put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. 'There, that's better,' I said. And he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. 'Stop it, stop it!' I cried. He only nodded, 'Not yet.'

"Then suddenly he put me back into the oven, not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. All the time I could see him through the opening nodding his head, saying, 'Not yet.'

"Then I knew there wasn't any hope. I would never make it. I was ready to give up. But the door opened and he took me out and placed me on the shelf. One hour later he handed me a mirror and said, 'Look at yourself.' And I did. I said, 'That's not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful.'

'I want you to remember,' he said, 'I know it hurt to be rolled and patted, but if I just left you, you'd have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled. I know it hurt and it was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have not have had any color in your life, and if I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't survive for very long because the hardness would not have held and you would not be strong enough. Now you are a finished product. You are what I had in mind when I first began with you.'

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Isn't this beautiful?!I read this story yesterday and I couldn't wait to share it with you! I know there have been many times that I have found myself feeling like that little tea cup.

With many of the hardships in life, we find ourselves praying to our Creator to take the pain away or even asking Him...why? Why God am I hurting? Sick? Sad? Why did I get into a car accident? Why did I lose my job? Why is my family struggling financially? Why haven't I found someone to love me? Why haven't I had children? Why is my parent ill? Why me? Why the people I love? Why...?

We don't understand the trials we must endure in this life and many times, we just want it all to stop or to get easier, but it doesn't, at least not right away.

We don't have all of the answers we would like, and life can be a struggle at times, but I like to think that we are much like the little tea cup. 

We are imperfect in the beginning-going through life, enduring the hardships, and all the while God is carefully molding us into His beautiful creation.  

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and

lean not on your own understanding"

Proverbs 3:5

After the Rain, The Rainbow

When I was 16, I did not have the desire to drive. My parents had to push me. I was going to a high school that was 20 minutes away for their art program and my mom had five other kids to get ready for school and a family business to tend to. If I wanted to go to this school, I needed to learn how to drive; it was as simple as that. My Grandma knew that I was scared and she offered to practice with me. One weekend we took off on a little road trip to Yarnell, Arizona. I was a small, nervous driver behind the wheel of her big gold Cadillac. Yarnell was a little town a few hours away, but that was Grandma’s destination of choice, because it had a Shrine. When we got there, we walked through a memorial that displayed the last days of Jesus Christ’s life. Then we had lunch and headed home.

On our way back, just as I was curving around the mountainside, it started to rain. My grandma was getting nervous and she asked me to pull over at the next exit. Before I was able to, the most beautiful thing happened. The end of the rainbow had miraculously hit the spot that we were traveling on. Suddenly, we were floating on a pathway of colors and for a moment, it seemed as though time stood still. We were able to enjoy the beauty before us. It was as if the landscape had been painted using only several pastel colors and then sprinkled with glitter. The rain had turned into what looked like small crystals dropping from the sky. It was amazing and we laughed, gasped and looked on in disbelief. I know that there are scientific explanations for rainbows, but I have never once believed that this experience had anything to do with science. In our hearts, we felt like God had sent us a miracle.

Like most people, I have experienced the trials of family illnesses, death, financial struggles, marital issues, and divorce. I was hurt and frightened many times, and uncertain if I had the strength to pull through. Would I ever stop crying? Would the pain in my chest go away? Would I ever feel like myself? The answers were always yes. Life always had a way of working out. I have learned that while the storms of life can be painful, the pain eventually ends. Even so, there are still times when I need to be reminded that life is good. When I find myself afraid to deal with the issues that are ahead of me, I simply remind myself to stop and look around. The sunrise, or the transformation of a butterfly are all reminders that some things in life are constant. Constant like God’s unfailing love, and the like the rainbow appearing after the rain.