Safe in the Potter’s Hands

“When I’m more mature, I’ll feel totally secure…. ‘cause when you’re older, absolutely everything makes sense.” 

- Olaf

I say this every time, but the new StoryMakers teen zine is a topic I really could have used when I was a teen. Teen Zine vol. 5: Future Self is all about how we imagine ourselves in the future. One of the most common questions asked of our youth is, “What do you want to do in the future?” And implicit in this question is a question of identity: Who are you? Who do you want to be?

I used to think that by the time I was an adult, the answer to that question would be answered and final. If only that were the case! There is a reason we laugh at Olaf in Frozen II when he sings about everything making sense when we’re older. We do not grow out of fears and uncertainties about what is coming and about who we are, and when humans feel out of control, our natural reaction is to tighten our grip.

We may feel that in order to have more control over our future we need to know ourselves better and understand our place in this world… it feels like that will surely bring security. And so we search deeper within ourselves.

There are two activities in the first chapter of Teen Zine vol. 5: Future Self which shed light on this question of identity and our future. The first one asks, “When you look in the mirror, who do you see?” Our answers to this can be all over the map, but whether positive or negative, we are typically looking for ways to shape ourselves into a better version. However, self-reflection and self-improvement can only take us so far, and frustration sets in when we can’t seem to make ourselves into exactly who we want to be.

The idea of shaping ourselves reminds me of a famous lithograph by the Dutch artist M.C. Escher called Drawing Hands, in which the hands are drawing and therefore creating themselves. This makes for a striking image and an interesting philosophical discussion, but when you question how those hands began the very first sketch mark on the page, it’s a dead-end. Created things cannot create themselves.

When we try to be self-made, we get stuck. This leads me to the zine’s second activity which clarifies who we are. It says, “Draw how you imagine God sees you.” This is one of those simple prompts that doesn’t even need to be answered to arrive at its truth: God knows me better than I know myself, and he knows what my future holds. It’s okay if I don’t know.

The mirror does not ultimately give me the clarity I need; God does that. Chapter one in Teen Zine vol. 5: Future Self expresses it perfectly by saying, “The world often tries to tell you that your future self is entirely up to you. But God’s story says something different: God is actively at work in your life to shape you into the person you are meant to be” (p. 13).

This teen zine begins with the most important reminder when it comes to thinking about our future: The one who created us and knows us better than we know ourselves is actively working in our lives, shaping and molding us into who he made us (and is making us) to be. Isaiah 64:8 says, “Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” Your future is in good hands—for your life is in the potter’s hands.