Recently I was helping my husband put up a storm door.
While working on it, he asked me if I knew how they got a piece of metal to be as strong as it was. He showed me the piece of metal and it was really strong, unbendable, a part of the reason why the storm door would work. He explained that it had been a straight piece of flexible metal at one point but when it was heated and bent into a different shape, it became strong.
I couldn't help but think how all the heat, the winds, the bending, the shaping of our lives serve to make us stronger and more Christ-like if we let it. Have you ever met anyone who has been through fire after fire in their Christian walk and yet they reflect strength, compassion, love, and faith with no signs of bitterness, anger, or questioning towards God?
Many years ago I had a class for the physically and mentally challenged at our church. The 72 year old lady who worked with me was a barrel of fun, the eternal optimist and devoted to her husband. I learned that during the war her son had been lost overboard at sea. My three sons were just babes at the time and that was totally incomprehensible to me--the grace she walked in after experiencing so great a tragedy. She had been through the fire and had come out stronger--victorious, a living example of what the power of Christ can do in our lives when we are pliable.
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12
I long to reflect the power of the living God when I go through the fires of adversity.
BTW, thank you, Honey, for the new storm door. I love it! It gives our family room a whole different look because now you look past the darkness into the light--that might be a whole 'nother post.
