If I had eyes in the back of my head...

Hindsight might be one of the coolest concepts ever. Don't you wish that hindsight was what you saw 24/7, rather than just when you look back? I wish that I could know what I've learned from my experiences before I went into them. However, we don't work that way. Some lessons can only be learned after the fact. On Sunday, Ken Redick taught about the process of making pottery. He spoke about the wedging table, which is a critical part in making a beautiful piece. Ken said, "Do you ever feel like you're on the wedging table?" I think there was an unspoken, collective "yes" from the congregation. As I meditated on this thought, I realized how grateful I am for that wedging table. Good gosh, it sucks when you're the clay being slammed down onto that table. But in hindsight, I have no choice but to celebrate it. I look back on one of my trips to the wedging table- it was brutal, but I think I'm off of it right now-and I am eternally thankful for the past few months of being prepared to be molded into something beautiful!!! Without that time, I wouldn't be who I am...I wouldn't be where I am...I wouldn't be so acutely aware of who God is. The key here is remembering this all when I take my next trip back to the wedging table. Although there's no promise that it will be easy, I know it's going to be so beyond worth it and it will result in a reward that cannot be described by words.

An amazing thing that we cannot forget is God sees in "hindsight" all of the time. Before we face difficult situations, he knows the lessons we're going to learn. As Ken said, he knows exactly what he's going to make out of us before he even sits down to work with the clay. A few years ago, my bible study leader used an amazing illustration. She said that God is weaving a tapestry. He knows what he's making, and he can see it all coming together. However, from down here, all we can see is the under side. Have you ever looked at the bottom of a tapestry? It looks nothing like the top! There are knots everywhere, and little strings hanging off...and you can't really see the shapes of the figures that somehow appear on the top part. All we are looking at right now in our lives is the bottom of the tapestry God is working on. One day, we will be able to see the top. We will look back in hindsight and point out a part of the beautiful tapestry, and be like, "Woah...wait a minute, God...I think the under side of this part is potentially the ugliest thing I have EVER seen...are you sure this is the right tapestry?" And God is going to say yes, it's the right tapestry. The one of our lives. The one he made perfectly, with a vision he had before he even sat down to begin working on it. He's going to laugh at us one day, and I honestly cannot wait to laugh at myself with him. I can't wait for him to explain to me his purpose in every trial I faced. He knows what he is making with my life. I don't, which sometimes bothers me. But I do have the comfort of knowing that one day I will look back and understand and be filled with gratitude for the time I spent on the wedging table.

"This vision of yours is so much bigger than what I see myself doing. Lord, give me the courage to be fearless."