There was a couple who used to go England to shop in a beautiful antique store.
This trip was to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.
They both liked antiques and pottery, and especially tea cups.
Spotting an exceptional cup, they asked, "May we see that?
We've never seen a cup quite so beautiful."
As the lady handed it to them, the tea cup spoke.
"You don't understand,"it said, "I have not always been a tea cup.
There was a time when I was just a lump of red clay.
My master took me and rolled me, pounded and patted me over and over .
I yelled out, 'Don't do that. I don't like it! Let me alone,' but he only smiled,
and gently said, 'Not yet!'"Then. WHAM! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. 'Stop it! I'm getting so dizzy!
I'm going tobe sick!', I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, quietly, 'Not yet.'
"He spun me and poked and prodded and bent me out of shape to suit himself and then....then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I yelled and knocked and pounded at thedoor. 'Help! Get me out of here!' I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his headf rom side to side, 'Not yet.' "When I thought I couldn't bear it another minute,the door opened. He carefully took me out and put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. 'Oh, that felt so good! Ah, this is much better,' I thought. But, after I cooled he picked me up and he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. 'Oh,please; stop it, stop it!!' I cried. He only shook his head and said. 'Not yet!' "Then suddenly he put me back in to the oven.. Only it was not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I just knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. I was convinced I would never make it. I was ready to give up. "Just then the door opened and he took me out and again placed me on the shelf, where I cooled and waited and waited, wondering, What's he going to do to me next? An hour later he handed me a mirror and said 'Look at yourself.' And I did. "I said, 'That's not me; that couldn'tbe me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful!' "Quietly he spoke: 'I want you to remember, then,' he said, 'I know it hurt to be rolled and pounded and patted, but had I just left you alone, you'd have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but ifI had stopped, you would have crumbled. I know it hurt and it was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened. You would not have had any color in your life. If I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't have survived for long because the hardness would not have held. Now you are a finished product. Now you are what I had in mind when I first began with you.'"
Hashem knows what He's doing in each of us. He is the potter,and we are His clay. He will mold us and make us, and expose us to just enough pressures of just the right kinds that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill His good, pleasing and perfect will. So when life seems hard, and you are being pounded and patted and pushed almost beyond endurance; when your world seems to be spinning out of control; when you feel like you are in a fiery furnace of trials; when life seems to "stink", try this:
Brew a cup of your favorite tea in your prettiest tea cup, sit down, andhave a little talk with the Potter!!
i love this so much thanks sooo much shoshana for this thought provoking really cool post!! it fits in so perfectly with lasts post.
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ReplyDeletepls keep asking questions and i will try my best to answer you.
or anyone else can also try to answer you all have such good ideas! also pls ask your questions to ask moses.com or a rav... cuz they know the real answers and every question has so many answers!!
the comments that you write about how you delt with a hard time in your life... is the best thing for everyone to read since it gives others the strength to see how you overcame it maybe they could do it too!
in times when life gets a little bompy the best thing to do is get a mentor or a friend to talk to and ask or just to hear you out even if you thinkyou are stable and don;t need it yoou really do you won't even realize how much till you do it and say how you feel so really try it
ReplyDeletewhen ever i feel down or like why do i get this i really want that or if im having trouble with a pereson like if i was insulted or hurt for whatever reason i remind myself of a few thing and then i feel so much better so here it is maybe it will help you or thimk of somthing on your own that works for u and remind yourself of it~OK
ReplyDelete1. Before i was born i picked my life i told HASHEME THIS IS THE LIFE I WANT AND YOU KNOW YOU R ALWAYS RIGHT AND HAVE THE BEST IDEAS LOL SO IF THIS IS WHAT I HAVE oviously i choose it and wanted it so its good.
2. i remind myself that im a princess and a kings daughter and there for im gr8 and wonderful and no-one can take that away from me~ for nothing!!!!
L'Ilay Nishmas R' Yehrachmle Ben Shimin ZT'L
a method i and my family use when we are in a painful situation and we want to be positive is humor turning to humor really lightens t he air and helps make it bearable i know some ppl feel it is inapproprate but everyone has different ways of dealing so if you feel it is inapproprate just ignor this one. i have one example taht comes to mind eventhough there really are millions of more but this is the most resent-
ReplyDeletei was driving with my sisters to a store and we had to go then because they were leaving to camp and it was the only time that it was open. anyway so it was gorgious outside the sun was shining. we wnt out into the car for about 2 min the place is only 5 min away 2 min into the trip the skys opened up and it started pouring it was so bad i couldn't see out the windsheald even with the whipers on it was really bad. to add to the mess i misssd the turn so we had to go back around i didn't know what to do should i pull over and wait till it ends, should i go home? i was scard i would skidd it was real stuff. i continued driving holding onto the wheel for my life. finally after splashing in alot of big huge puddles so much ta=ht the water from the puddle would get over my roof. We finally pulled up in frount of the building. in the pooring rain my sister got out of the car and buzzed no one answered after 2 min. of standing in the rain she can back to the car. we could have been uopset we had every excuse to be, we could have started complaining but non of us did we drove and then we drove to a dead end where the water was so high we drove in every puddle possible this time to get the splash w then had the most brillant idea why don't we get out of the car and stand while i drive through the puddles that way you will get scoked it will be so much fun!! they took off their shoes and socks and jactes got out of the car into knee deep water and did just that i went once reversted and did it again and went back up and then again and again. i felt my feet getting wetin the CAR!! I figured it might be a little bad for the car so it was time to leave!! we had so much fun, we were so happy that i raided it was too bad that the store was closed but we totally didn't cear because we had the best time ever!! The point of this story is to show how you can turn around and situatuion if you want to we made a bad thing into the best thing ever only because we were willing to. this is now saved as one of my best momories instead of a bad one. thingk positive good luck you should really try it, it does wonders for me.
L'Ilay Nishmas R' Yehrachmle Ben Shimin ZT'L
I think that's really cool of you to change a situation from stressful and annoying to fun and hysterical!! Good for you!
ReplyDeletewow ur ideas are amazing..here is another thought....growing up i have had my shear in pain and frustration.... i found many life lessons from these trials in life
ReplyDelete1. hashem never will give me a challange i cant handle if its hard it means im strong.
2. in order for hashem to give me a nisoin he has to come close to me
3. talk to someone as painful as it often often can be i made the mistake of ignoring my pain but it didnt dissapear it remained and grew and grew untill i became so depressed.. never hide it ever u always need a mentor
Beutifull, unbeleivable, really gives us chizuk and understanding to deal with our nisyonos. I read this to my 12 year old son (his parents are divorced) after he asked me, "tatty why did hashem do this to me"? Is it possible for hashem to give me a nisayon i cant pass? I read him your beutifull, deep, explanation (of the chomer byad hayotzer) and he began to cry he said wow i really feel like i was pounded and smashed, but now i understand that hashem wants to make me big and betifull like the tea mug!!! Thank you so much! I tried to explain this to him during many hard times, but when i read your words to him his eyes began to shine as he cried, bittersweat tears, he now says "tatty can you read me another one like that"! R chaim ozer grozovsky used to say about the chofetz chaim that his torah is like the mun in the midbar everybody had a different taste, meaning it is torah that can be internalized on many different levels, a child can relate to it, and a lamdan can relate to it, this is classified as the "omek of pashtus" meaning the depth of simplicity, i think this applies to your writing also. Thank you again!
ReplyDelete