Shaping up

Have you heard the parable of the potter and the clay? I have to admit that until Sunday at our Relief Society meeting, I wasn't very familiar with it -- but it has made a huge impression on me.

The parable is found in Jeremiah 18, but Heber C. Kimball also gave a great discourse about it (which I found in an Ensign article). The entire lesson -- all about how we are like clay in the Master's hands -- was wonderful, but the part that stuck out to me the most was this point, from Elder Kimball:

"There are many vessels that are destroyed after they have been molded and shaped. Why? Because they are not contented with the shape the potter has given them, but straightway put themselves into a shape to please themselves; therefore, they are beyond understanding what God designs."

How many times do we as women want to fit into a different shape from the one the potter has given us? I don't just mean physical shapes (I always wanted smooth, straight hair and I'd rather have ankles that taper down like they're supposed to); I mean the way we shape our lives. Do we have faith in the Lord and what He has planned for us? Do we let Him mold us and make us into an incredible servant in His hands?

Or do we resist His help and shrink back into our old rough form? I know I've been guilty of this. There are so many times when I could do better, be stronger, and I fall back into my bad habits. I need to rely more on the Lord and be the person He created me to be.

Sometimes shaping up just requires a little more faith and -- as backwards as it sounds -- letting yourself go. I don't know about you, but I want to be a beautiful, smooth-as-glass vase when the Lord has finished molding me.