Today while at church God reminded me of something from this past week and used it as an illustration in understanding Him as our Father and us as parents too.
This week I took my girls to Strawberry Bank as part of there homeschool day programs. While there we saw a lady putting together a potato basket. I honestly thought it was really neat and asked quite a few questions. I love seeing things made as I love the process of what it takes to put something together.
Today though at church God said I was like the basket being made. All of us are essentially. He is the basket weaver. He brought me back to that room watching her carefully bending making sure the wood was wet enough to bend. Careful not to break it, she weaved in one piece at a time. What I really started to think about is that before they can start weaving the basket they have to soak the pieces in water to make it more pliable. How much do we have to soak in His presence before He can start bending us into shape?
I remember asking the woman what she does if the pieces start to dry out while working with them and she showed me that she used a spray bottle to mist it to re-wet it. Yet again I got this image of God needing to shower us down to get us back in His presence so he can bend some more. This can happen in the form of daily devotions or prayers. Maybe meditating on His word throughout the day.
What I love about God our basket maker is that He has to mold us piece by piece. Sometimes he will need to trim off the ends. Sometimes in the beginning when we are really wet and full of Him it’s easier then when we are at the end of a new accomplishment (row) and we need to really be pushed into place. Sometimes we don’t want to bend and need to get back into His presence (re-wet), so that we can become more pliable again.
What I love about this illustration is that we as parents are molding our children the same way God does with us. Layer by layer, strip by strip. We bend and push and mold our children into the men and women they will grow into. We do this one day, week, month, year at a time.
All baskets are unique just like God’s children are all made unique. However like a basket, you need a creator. You need someone that can imagine the end product. You need someone that believes the process is worth it, even though it takes time and effort. As children of God we can see ourselves growing, being shaped into something better.
As parents my hope is that we too understand it’s a process but it’s worth every effort we put into it. I pray we take one day at a time, slowly wetting and waiting, bending and shaping, misting and bending some more. I pray that we can picture the end result as our Father has done with us.
For those that don’t have children this is also for you to see what God is making you into. He is not finished with you. He may be done with one row but he has more to add to make it complete. He also needs to make sure it can hold what it’s intended to hold when finished, that the integrity is not broken. As with any creation he may need to take it apart and start all over again.
Wherever you are in your journey, I pray that you would soak in His presence.
Go to Him.
Be in awe of Him.
Let Him mold you into His perfect creation.
Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash