Basket Weaving

Bible Reading: Jeremiah 18:1-6

“This is going to be fun!” Tessa declared. She was eager to have her grandmother teach her how to weave a basket.

Tessa watched Grandma lift a bucket filled with water and reeds out of the sink. “Watch carefully now,” said Grandma. She demonstrated how to bend the reeds and explained the weaving pattern. Soon Tessa was ready to begin her own basket.

“You’re doing great,” Grandma said after Tessa had completed several rows of weaving on her basket.

“It’s fun—and it’s easier than I thought it would be,” Tessa replied. She kept on weaving, stopping only now and then to ask Grandma for help.

“This reed isn’t bending very well,” Tessa said after a while. She was holding the last one from the pile Grandma had made when they began the project.

“Let me see.” Grandma inspected the reed Tessa was trying to use. “This reed is too dry. You need to put it back in the water and get a different one. It’s important to keep your reeds wet.”

After switching reeds, Tessa began weaving easily again. “This is better,” she said.

“Good.” Grandma smiled, then asked, “Do you know what hard-hearted Christians are?”

“Hard-hearted Christians?” repeated Tessa. “What do you mean?”

“I’m thinking of Christians who are determined to do things their own way instead of following God’s leading,” explained Grandma.

Tessa frowned. “Do you know somebody like that?”

“Well, yes,” said Grandma with a smile. “Me! We can all be like that dry, unbendable reed sometimes. But just like a basket weaver needs bendable reeds to work with, God needs our hearts to be humble and pliable so He can form us into what He wants us to be.”

“The Bible compares God to a potter, doesn’t it?” said Tessa. “And we should be like soft clay that He can shape.”

“That’s absolutely right,” said Grandma. “We need to remember that we belong to Jesus and let Him guide us and mold us, instead of stubbornly insisting on our own way. Every time you look at your basket, remember to be like a damp reed or soft clay that God can work with. Trust Him to shape you to be more like Jesus.” Molly Matazel

How About You?

Are you letting God shape you into the person He wants you to be? Or are you bent on doing things your own way? Don’t be like a dry, unbendable reed. Be humble and open to the work God is doing in your life to make you more like Jesus. Listen to Him when He makes it clear that something in your life needs to change. Trust Him to shape you like soft clay.

Today’s Key Verse:
Isaiah 64:8 O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand. (NLT)

Today’s Key Thought:

Let God mold you