One day a
man and woman visited an antique
shop in
Europe. When they entered the
shop, they
spotted this beautiful little tea
cup sitting
on the shelf. They noticed it
because it
was such fine china.
All the
sudden the tea cup began to talk
to
them. It said, "I didn't always
look
like this,
you know. I used to be just
a hard,
grey, cold lump of clay.
But one day
my Master came and
picked me
up. He started patting and
rolling me
and changing my shape.
And I said,
"Ow! Leave me alone."
Then He put
me on a wheel and started
spinning me
around like crazy. I said,
"Let me
off, I'm getting dizzy.
I'm gonna
pass out!"
But my
Master said, "Not yet."
Then he
formed me into a tea cup and put me
in an oven
to bake. The oven had a little
glass door
and every once in a while, He
would peek
in at me to see if I was ready.
I would
holler,
"Get me
out of here! It's too hot!"
But my
Master said, "Not yet."
Then he took
me out and painted me.
I cried,
"Ooh, that stinks.
Stop, I
can't take this anymore!"
But my
Master said, "Not yet."
Then He put
me on a shelf.
And I said,
"Finally!"
But the next
day He put me in the oven again
and it was
twice as hot. I said, "I can't
take any
more of this! Get me out, now!"
But my
Master just said, "Not yet."
Finally the
day came when He opened the
door, took
me out and sat me on this shelf.
He brought
me a mirror and said, "Now, look!"
I just
couldn't believe how beautiful I had
become! Where I had once been just a hard,
cold, grey,
lump of clay . . . God had done the
most
beautiful and miraculous work in me!