Refining Fire

Several years ago I saw a documentary on how copper was mined and how it was refined. I typically don't watch those types of shows but this one caught my attention. The basic idea behind getting to the pure copper is that it goes through a process that involves several steps. The raw material is put on a conveyor belt and it travels a distance to its first bath. It is put into a bath of a type of acid and there may have been heat added. It stays in there for a period of time and when it comes out many of the impurities have been taken away. This process is continued several times. By the end the copper is just under 100% pure. Life is much the same way. We go town the road of life with little or no problem and then we come up to a trial of some sort. They are usually painful and cause us to make changes in the way we do things, look at things, or they cause us to change specific aspects of ourselves. Then we are given a reprieve and time to stand stronger and continue on down the road. Then another growing experience is given to us. This happens throughout our lives. The great thing about these experiences is that we can decide how they will affect us. We can go through the trials or growing experiences and come out asking "why me" and feel burned and become angry and bitter. Or we can ask the question "what do I learn from this", make the changes that will make us stronger, and be happy and enjoy our journey through life. There is a reason why we go through these experiences. The Lord is trying to get all the dirt and impurities off of us to allow the purest, the best part of us shine through. Just as the copper isn't 100% pure at the end of its refining process, we won't be perfect at the end of our lives. But how much more rich will our lives be if we will accept the challenges in our lives, learn from them, and become the people that the Lord needs us to be and knows we can become.