A college pottery class taught me more than how to center clay, raise walls, and survive a kiln. It gave me a new way to understand the hands of God. He shapes us, works with what becomes marred, and when life leaves us broken, He knows how to repair us.
Tag: trials
Rooted Near Living Water
Life brings seasons of growth, drought, uncertainty, and change. Psalm 1 offers a quieter measure of prosperity: not constant fruit, but deep roots near a steady source. When our lives remain planted near Jesus Christ, we can trust that He will provide what we need for every season we encounter.
Thy Gold to Refine
Suffering can make us wonder what we did wrong or why God would allow something so painful. Job’s story challenges that assumption. Perhaps trials are not evidence of God’s displeasure at all. Perhaps the fire we would never choose can become the very thing through which He refines us into gold.
Faith to See the Seventh Day
Some walls in life do not fall quickly. They require us to keep walking, trusting, and obeying long after visible progress disappears. The story of Jericho reminds us that faith is often less about dramatic moments and more about quiet persistence until God chooses to act.
At the Base of Your Mountain
Sometimes faith moves the mountain. Sometimes faith gives us strength to climb it. Reflecting on the Dolomites, Caleb, and President Kimball’s “Give me this mountain,” this post explores how God helps us face the hard things, one step or one rock at a time.
Strait vs. Straight: The Path in Lehi’s Dream
The path up Camelback Mountain twists, climbs, and sometimes gives hikers a welcome handrail to grasp. Lehi’s dream describes another difficult path with something placed alongside it to hold. Maybe “strait and narrow” tells us something important about discipleship, difficulty, and why God gives us a rod for the journey.
Moving Is Hard
Moving is hard. I find the last bit of packing and loading a truck the most challenging. The final items strewn everywhere around the house seem endless sometimes; they aren’t enough of “one thing” for a box category of their own, but somehow they could take up multiple boxes if thrown together. They end up…
Fields to Plow
While growing up, I spent several summers on my grandparents’ farms. I have poignant memories that include riding in the combine with my namesake grandfather and my dad. I remember it being an adventure to ride in the combine. Humans have always sought to make work easier and more efficient. The combine did that on…
God Will Help Us through the Tight Spots
A river pilot, a sudden storm, and a quiet prayer offered miles away. This story reminds us that even the most experienced among us need help beyond our own strength and that God is present in life’s most uncertain moments, guiding us through what we cannot see.