It's cold where I have chosen to have some Sabbath time. The coldest July on record, with temperatures yesterday only in the upper 60's. I wear a jacket on the last day of July!
Sometimes Sabbath can be like this--something that is surprisingly different than normal, that jolts us out of the complacency of life and plonks us down in a new place. This Sabbath for me is beginning to be like this.
I have had a challenging spring and early summer. Conflict. Being called names like Liar. My head has swum with the vehemence of it, the utter unbelievability of how something I wanted to be so positive turned so bitter and accusatory of my very intentions. I intended good and it was perceived as evil. What surprising and hurtful results.
I have questioned myself, lost confidence in my skills, been hurt deeply.
Getting through all that to this coldest of July's is perhaps a perfect gauntlet to run through.
I ask prayers for those who hate me, for myself and my hurt, for their hurt.
I have gone fishing here and caught nothing. Catching nothing is the metaphor for God's calling me forward to my own humility and pain, to be real. God is with me, I feel it, calling me. I have answered one large call and must keep answering that call again and again--keep reasserting that I am responding YES to all that God is creating in me.
This Sabbath has not been easy. When I hear the word Sabbath, I imagine rest and low level activity. Yes there has been that, but also a rending of my heart, catching nothing, being here in the surprising cold, hoping for sunshine.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Refiner of Silver
Malachi 3:3 says: 'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.'
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment.. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?' He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it.'
This was passed on to me via email from an attorney friend of mine, who got it from her sister. I usually don't engage with this kind of spam, but the story intrigued me and meant a lot to me and my own life and wanted to share it with you.
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.'
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment.. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?' He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it.'
This was passed on to me via email from an attorney friend of mine, who got it from her sister. I usually don't engage with this kind of spam, but the story intrigued me and meant a lot to me and my own life and wanted to share it with you.
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