“For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver . . . we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.” Psalm 66:10; 12 NIV
I imagine some of you reading these words today are going through fire and water right now. God is testing and refining you. And it hurts.
Maybe I don’t hang out with the right people, but I don’t know anyone who enjoys taking tests. Nor do I know anyone who lines up early to be first for the refining process.
And going through fire? Well that’s downright scary and packed with potential for pain.
As for water, at first we might think oh yes, I’ll take that one. But consider the resistance we face when we have to walk through knee-high, waist-high, or—heaven forbid—neck-high water even when it’s calm. Add huge waves or dangerous current, and going through water imparts its own brand of scary.
The experiences that refine us—the fire and water—many times are marathon trials to boot. Endurance tests. When caring for Don’s mother during the last several years of her life over a decade ago, at times the demands of hospital duty threatened to engulf me. I also shared in the ongoing pain of our daughter and son-in-law as they waited for years to have a child. And now I’m in the midst of another endurance test as I navigate the waters of caring for a spouse with Alzheimer’s. No, refining isn’t easy.
Thank goodness the word but comes after the mention of tests and refining, of fire and water in the scripture above. Thank goodness God doesn’t leave us struggling through endurance tests forever. Instead, he brings us “to a place of abundance.” A place of great blessing.
So let’s take heart, friends. Let’s remember that as we go through the refiner’s fire, our place of abundance may be just around the bend. Great blessing is surely on the way.
“I am the LORD your God . . . Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.” Psalm 81:10 NIV
*How has God blessed you with abundance after a time of trial?
*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regular issue, comes out in early November. One lucky subscriber (new or current) will receive a $15 gift card to Starbucks and a signed copy of my book to use personally, give as a gift, or donate to a library. Sign-up is free! Temporary problem with Life Notes sign-up. To sign up, just contact me.
*For info about my book Mother of the Bride check out my Books/My Work page.
*Photo by Maxim Tajer on Unsplash
Dross Before Gold: Photography, Arts, and Other Skills
Compliments sure feel good, don’t they? I never dreamed they were in my future as I snapped photos right and left during our vacation to the Tetons and Yellowstone, several years ago, but that’s exactly what happened after I started sharing my photos.
Much to my delight, several people commented about what great pictures I took while on our trip. What fun to hear people say things like “Beautiful shot” or “What wonderful photos” after they’d looked at my albums on Facebook or the ones I posted here on the blog.
What they didn’t realize is that I took lots of bad shots in order to achieve the glory shots. They didn’t see the dross that preceded the gold.
Believe it or not, I downloaded over 750 photos to my computer after we returned home. Plus, I’d already deleted the without-a-doubt duds from my camera during the trip. After getting a chance to examine my haul more closely at home, I sent several more shots to my computer’s recycle bin. Even with that, I shared only a portion publicly. Bye- bye, dross. Hello, gold.
As I learn more about whatever camera I’m using and put in more practice time, I won’t have quite as much dross to sift through during future photo-athons. But you know what? I don’t mind the dross so much if I end up with some gold to enjoy.
Photography’s not much different from writing—or any other skill or art for that matter—in the dross and gold department. I write lots of so-so sentences before I finally get some good stuff. I delete and revise certain words or phrases as I type and get rid of others after closer examination. Then I select just the right ones to share with the world. Bye-bye, dross. Hello, gold.
Looks like the old saying “practice makes perfect” proves true once again. It’s up to us to decide if we’re willing to put in the practice to perfect the skill, to deal in some dross in order to gain the gold.
Is it worth it? My spirit says “yes!” Does yours say the same? Okay then—what are we waiting for? Let’s go for the gold!
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people.“ Colossians 3:23 GNT
In what skills are you working to achieve gold?
*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, comes out in early May. One lucky subscriber (new or current) will receive a $15 gift card to Barnes & Noble and a signed copy of my book to use personally, give as a gift, or donate to a library. *Temporary problem with Life Notes sign-up. To sign up, just contact me.
*For info about my book Mother of the Bride and also my Wedding Inspiration cards, check out my Books/My Work page.
*Flickr photo by photosteve101, Creative Commons License