Who hasn’t been broken in fires of life? People are more stressed out than anytime on the face of the earth. You can hear and see brokenness: anger, offense, frustration. Verbal abuse is the norm, not the exception. People who have failed or have been hurt, have angry attitudes. They are cracked pots who sound off in times of heat. We like to sing about the potter and the clay in church. We usually don't know what that even means and we don't like what it takes to get restored. Yet we know God wants vessels of strength. In Israel they understood pottery and the potter's wheel. When a vessel became broken, it was a result of clay that wouldn't take the heat. The fire produced a crack, usually around the lip of the vessel. It was in need of repair. God, (our Great Potter) will use all kinds of firewood to heat up the furnace. He takes tough situations to use them to prove the hearts of His kids. He will make sure we pass our courses in the proving ground of life. He wants to repair us at any cost.