Throw Your Life Away

To throw or not to throw, that is the question! I'm a potter and love the therapy and creativity of the experience. One of my favorite tee shirts has this phrase on it, "Throw Your Life Away - Be a Potter." My studio is a mess right now, not to say that it isn't always, but it's cluttered with non-clay stuff that needs to be put up so I can go get a load of clay this weekend.

This is sort of the image for my life at this point. There are creative things that God wants me to do, but I've got "stuff" in the way. It's mostly good stuff, but some of it simply needs to hit the trash can. I need to harness enough discipline to get things in order so I can do with more ease the things I really love.

One thousand pounds of clay will get me through Christmas season. Ninety pieces will be given to Columbia District Clergy, active and retired. Fifty pieces will be given to people in the UM Center as I fill the cupboards with this year's theme: soap/lotion dispenser's. I will need twenty pieces for the Extended Cabinet. Last year it was chalices and patens. This year, I'm not too sure yet. Maybe it will be bowls and pitchers as a baptismal theme. Of course, in addition to all these I've got to ponder what to make for forty family members. All total it will take some two hundred pieces to give away.

To get there I've got to deal with the clutter first. For those potters out there you know what I mean. You can't make something without centering the clay, and that's what my soul is longing for: to be centered. Our district set-up meeting is tonight, but I think I'm going to leave the office early and go straighten out things in my studio. That will be my personal set-up meeting. Who knows, if it goes more quickly than I expect, maybe I'll throw clay before the meeting: centered and ready to roll!