One Important Life Lesson from the Omarama Clay Cliffs

When I read Pastor Ronny’s reflection, “Depend on Him Like Clay to a Potter“, he reminded me of the famous Clay Cliffs in Omarama, New Zealand.

It made me think, who would come and visit the Clay Cliffs if that mountains of clay remained an ordinary mountain range?

The Clay Cliffs wouldn’t be named as it is and would be like any familiar mountain dotted with grazing sheep or cows. It could have been a barren, unattractive place where probably the thorny matakoura bushes abound.

But from a standard range of mountains, the ancient glaciers that deposited silt and gravel…

…the geological movements,

… rain and snowstorms,

…and the winds of varying forces and directions,

…carved the range into the geological wonder that became the famous Clay Cliffs.

Now, people from here and abroad travel for long hours and walk the distance to see the Clay Cliff’s natural wonders.

The Clay Cliffs became more popular after being chosen as one of the many New Zealand locations where Walt Disney’s Mulan was shot.

So, what essential lessons can we learn from the Clay Cliffs?

Be still. God is moulding us.

Perhaps we have said in our prayers many times, “Lord, mould me in the way you want me to be”, but then how the Lord God can mould us when we are restless?

Worse, we might always be moving against the moulding hands of God.

Psalm 46:10 says,

“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

Imagine if the Clay Cliffs was a restless mountain, always moving against the forces of nature, it could have been a mound of loose clay, gravel, and dirt by now.

Or it could have remained an ordinary mountain nobody would take an interest in.

Also, it is essential to know that the Clay Cliffs weren’t formed in a single day, month, or year. It took many, many years for its formation.

How long should we remain still?

How long one should remain still seems to be the prevailing question.

We often remained motionless and focused on God but only for a moment.

The fact is, we are always on the go. We always lack the patience to wait upon the Lord sincerely.

Our restlessness before God indicates a person who always wants to be in control.

The answer to the question, “how long should we still be?”

I found Psalm 37:7 expressing the answer that we need to be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him:

Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.

I am deeply touched by Pastor Ronny’s assertion in his reflection, “Depend on Him Like Clay to a Potter.” He said:

For his plans to be realized in my life, I need to depend on him like clay to a potter fully. I will not resist, I will not complain, I will not protest. I need to be pliant, soft, and easy to mould.

RONNIE LUCES

From an ordinary mountain range, the Potter’s hands moulded a beautiful masterpiece called Clay Cliffs, which the family could visit and be in awesome wonder.

So, if we long for God’s working hands to make us the best and most attractive person He wants us to be, we need to be still, know He is God, and wait patiently for Him.

God bless you all!