Conversations

Thursday, May 28, 2009
morning pages

My daughter Carrie sent this to me this week in an email. I thought it was such a powerful picture of Christ's love for us that it was worthy of sharing ...

At church on Sunday the pastor shared an email that I want to pass along to you. A woman was a part of a Bible Study and after reading Malachi 3:3 another woman asked a question. The verse reads, "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver..."The woman asked, "What is that? What does it mean to refine silver?" So the woman who wrote the email said that she would find out everything she could about refining silver and she would bring the info back to the group next week.She proceeded to call a silver smith and without telling him why, she asked if she could come and witness his work. He agreed and the next day she went to his shop.She watched as he took a piece of silver held it in the center of an open flame."The hottest part of the fire!" he exclaimed, "that's where it needs to be." She sat quietly and watched when she spoke again she asked,"When do you know it is done?"He smiled, "Oh, that's easy. When I can see my image in it!"I haven't ever heard an example that brought me to my knees, like this one.It was obvious that the pastor thought it was important to make two points.

1. the silver being held in the middle of the fire. (aka. the hottest part)
2. that the silver is fully purified when he can see his image in the silver I got an extra point out of this beautiful picture.

I closed my eyes and imagined my God sitting there holding me in the center of a fire. What came to mind was God's knuckles. When I saw them I noticed that there wasn't any hair on his knuckles.Strange you may think but I have a point.He is right there holding me in the fire, he is feeling the heat of my circumstances,emotions, frustrations, valley's and mountaintops.I have always known that "God is with me."But now I know it in a pure form of this picture of a God that is in it with me!

Holding me In His Arms, B.