The Refiner's Fire

It is our destiny in life to learn from our own experiences. This learning happens in many ways, but most often it is through the trials of life that we gain the experience we need to find success in life. For we must partake of the bitter to understand the sweet. It is the hardships that we face that prepare, purge, purify, and bless us forever after.  Our great creator in His infinite wisdom could have given us perfect bodies and easy lives, but that is not the purpose. Instead we are given opportunities to learn through our imperfections.

My favorite imagery of life is that of the refiner's fire. It is in the great refinery of life that God removes us of our imperfections as we pass through the heat of tough trials just as the dross is removed when silver is refined. This refining makes us better, more pure people; consistently building us bit by bit until one day there are few imperfections left. Why must we pass through this furnace of affliction? It is the price to become acquainted with God. It is the key to becoming more than we could be on our own. It is the hard times in life that form and build our character and shape our futures.

So, how do we successfully pass through the refiner's fire? I believe it is as we choose to accept our trials as opportunities for learning and growth- choosing to say, "What can a learn from this?" instead of "Why is this happening to me?". I have found that when I choose to be the victim in my circumstances the world seems to collapse in on me and all seems hopeless. On the contrary, when I've chosen to look at a trial with a little perspective and ask what I am to learn from it, I am mentally, emotionally, and spiritually present in the situation and better able to handle the trial.

In my life it seems I've been given an extra heavy load of challenges to bear. There have been many moments that I've looked at others and wondered why some seem to get much heavier loads than others. After much pondering and prayer I feel that the trials that each of us are given are not like random cards that are shuffled and dealt to us. They are instead hand picked for us because a loving God knows what we need to learn certain lessons and what will stretch us but not break us. As hard as our own trials are, I think that if we looked at someone else's plate we assuredly would not trade.

For me the greatest trials in life have come through family relationships, health issues, and motherhood. I hope some of my thoughts in the stories I share in the future concerning these topics may be a hope for others who tread these deep waters.

A quote that has given me the perspective to keep moving forward is as follows: "Often the deep valleys of our present will be understood only by looking back on them from the mountains of our future experience."