Have you ever scorched a pan on the stove? Perhaps you were distracted for a moment, and the heat was too high; perhaps the football game suddenly took an exciting turn, and you forgot you were cooking at all! Whatever the circumstances, you're left with a mess. And it isn't your typical mess- you have a STUBBORN mess to tackle. The food has now bonded with the pan, and no amount of scrubbing, scraping, screaming, cajoling, begging, pleading, or crying helps. It is almost like the pan is mocking your vain attempts to clean it. If you are anything like me, the pan is abandoned to a soapy hot water soak, hoping that has some effect. After a few days of soaking (and reclaiming your frayed nerves that scattered as you tackled the mess the first time) you may have some success in cleaning away more of the residue, but it takes time- time, patience, and fortitude.
That's the best illustration I have to explain my 33rd year of life.
I am pretty sure on the Facebook quizzes I will never claim 33 as my favorite age. However, I can say that 33 changed me. I can truthfully say that the Lord has changed me in ways that I didn't know I needed to change. This has simply been a HARD year. It takes the hard things, though, to shape and change us. Sometimes there is intense heat. It is easy to wonder, at times, if the heat will actualyl be your undoing, and you won't survive.
Those are the moments you do well to remember precious metals are forged under intense heat. They are shaped, molded, and changed into a vessel of usefulness in the hottest part of the flame. When the One responsible for placing the metal into the fire begins to shape it, the artistic ability of the Craftsman comes to light. As the dross is burned away, the purity of the metal begins to shine. Carefully, meticulously, intentionally the metal is re shaped into something better than it ever was before. If that metal had feelings I doubt it would be thrilled by the process! However, the end result is stunning- a new object, unrecognizable as what it was before, appears. We don't praise the metal for being changed, though. The metal was passive, a bystander. The Craftsman is applauded for His skill in recognizing what could be, and for changing it into what He envisions.
The Lord is intentional and purposeful in His design. This hard year wasn't an accident. It was lovingly enacted in order to change me into what He had in store for me. Because of this I do not look back on 33 and say, "how awful a year!" Because of this I can look back and gratefully proclaim, "oh Lord, how MERCIFUL you are!"
No, I do not want to repeat this past year, but I am thankful for what the Lord has done. Here's to praying for an ever increasing faithfulness for 34- and beyond.
Check back soon to hear about how 34 started- it wasn't great. But God is good.