'cause I'm broken

about a month ago, I started playing around with sculpting clay. I haven't taken any classes or anything, so I don't really know what I'm doing :) but it's been fun to figure out.

it took me about a week to create a human figure that I actually liked. I wasn't going for anything super-realistic. I wanted it to be simple (and relatively easy). When I finally created one that I really liked, I was so excited. I set him to dry over night, but made the mistake of sitting him upright. During the night, he fell over and broke. Though in this picture he doesn't look too bad, in reality, all four appendages broke off - both arms, both legs. So I set about trying to fix him.

As I sat at my art table trying to repair the little guy, I felt kind of sad. Granted, it's just a simple clay figure, but I really liked the way he turned out, and I was bummed that he was broken. Every time I thought I'd gotten part of him fixed, it would break again, which added to my melancholy. I knew I could create another figure. I could even create one that would look similar, but it wouldn't quite be the same. I knew that if I couldn't repair him, I'd never have another one quite like him.

Then it occurred to me that I must be getting a small taste of how God feels when He tries to repair me. Granted, I too am just a simple clay figure ("the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground...") but God formed me. He fashioned my shape and my very soul and called them good. And though He's created others that are similar in form, none are quite like me. Along the way, I've gotten broken. And as God tries to put the pieces back together, I'm certain He thinks - with some melancholy, or perhaps deep sorrow - of what He had in mind when He created me. And as I try to repair my creation, so God is trying to repair His.

Hopefully, He'll have better results.