Ceramics & Idealism

I initially decided to take ceramics to get out of my comfort zone . . . and whew did it do just that. Ceramics pushes me to reevaluate the way I think and forces me to face my insecurities. I remember the first project we had I was so set on doing it this one way I had thought up in my mind and then my professor came along and told me it wasn’t going to work. (For good reason)

What I had grown so attached to what I was going to do, I conjured up not just an idea but what I thought was The Idea. The fact that the idea was not working out made me uncomfortable. This was the moment that the Holy Spirit started to reveal to me the things I tried to keep hidden from God. Projects didn’t come out as I planned, I sometimes got too caught up in the small things that I forgot the big picture and would create more turmoil for myself. As I held the clay in my hands, spent hours building things, being thoughtful with my design I just ultimately had to confront things within me and give it to God. In my personal life I realized that there were things that I had envisioned, once again with the thought that of ‘this is how it should be’, that wasn’t so. When those solid ideas were crumbling, I caved inside myself. This unintentionally brought more hurt unto myself, to my environment, and to others. On a more personal note, I realized I was being idealistic towards a specific family member. I had strong feelings on how they should fulfill their role in the family and grew resentful and distant when they didn't. But, you know, God still calls me to love them. The same way God loves me, and I love him is the way I am to love anyone and everyone. This may all sound obvious, but I was so stuck in my thoughts that I was oblivious to this.

Mind shifts is what ceramics has taught me.