Purified by Fire

July 14, 2019 / 132 Comments

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“Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the heart.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭17:3‬ ‭NLT‬‬
https://www.bible.com/116/pro.17.3.nlt

Now living in California, massive out of control fires are as close as a drive away. I’ve not yet witnessed one of these first hand, but I’ve experienced the effects and after effects. The air is polluted, thick grey, with the grey haze hovering over, miles away. Driving by the black stubble, fields of black bare earth with patches of smoldering smoke puts a heavy lump in the pit of my stomach. I can’t even imagine what it may feel like, being a direct victim, or near miss, or one of the brave firefighters. Fire is not one of my favorite things. I mean I like the comfort of warmth and watching controlled fires from a safe distance. But my fear of fire is right up there with the fear of heights. I have a hard time lighting a match. (Seriously)
The attached picture is taken out of our kitchen window, if you look close you can see smoke coming out of the valley. It has been raining here quite a bit, and we have designated burn days. This would be a controlled fire. It made me think of our lives, the fires in our lives.

There are controlled fires in our life and those that are out of control. Sometimes we have fires that we light in our life to get rid of something. Sometimes we need fire to keep us warm, to cook food, or for protection. Fire is both a helpful source as well as a harmful source. Sometimes those things that are harmful in our life are the very things we need. It’s a scary thing to come out of my mouth, much less to be put in writing. But by silencing this truth does not make it less true. In fact after a forest fire, it is said that the soil is the most fertile. Ready for fresh new growth. What can we learn from this? I’m still like a child, closing my eyes. Hiding in a closet. Putting my head in the sand. I’ve always been like that. As I’ve grown up and as a child of God I’ve gotten better, but still have the tendency. That’s one of the reasons why I had a hard time in softball as a child. I would close my eyes as a batter, when the pitcher thew the ball. Right? Lol There’s lots of other things I did that are rather embarrassing, I won’t share. But as I’ve grown up, grown in Christ, and have had children, I’ve learned to keep my eyes open and trust. But it is an everyday learning task. Prayer and Trusting our Heavenly Father who is in control of EVERYTHING! Including the fires that seem out of control.
What fires are out of control in your life? What has flourished because of a fire in your life? If this blog has spoken to you in any way, please share! Your story will help others as well. We can help each other in the name of Jesus!  

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