It is mid-November which means that gifts must be started very soon.  I thought I got a great start on the Advent calendar in July.  I made four sets of jars.  To date, I have glazed 1.5 sets of jars and Jeffrey has completed one of the new boxes.  This is how life is – something more urgent (not necessarily important) interrupts the progress.  I plan to glaze the balance of the jars this weekend and then fire them.  I hope to have two of the boxes for my family finished by Thanksgiving.

I am excited about filling each jar with a bible verse and treat.  However, my sous-potter is agonizing over the unworthiness of the boxes.  I asked him if he noticed the jars – he said that he did and he thought they were great.  They are great, but they are far from perfect.  Being a very pragmatic person, I realize that none of my pots are ever going to be perfect.  But, that isn’t my ambition and I certainly don’t let it steal the joy of making a present for some one.  Instead of obsessing about how badly my project is going, my mind is filled with thoughts of the recipient and I am excited about the prospect of sharing something I have made with a special person.  Instead of criticizing the work, I take the opportunity to pray for my gift and the person who will receive it.  I believe the attitude with which a gift is made is seen in the work.