Many of you know that after our house fire we were so incredibly blessed by friends and family and overwhelmed by the way that God provided for us emotionally, mentally, financially, etc. Last year at Christmas Billy & I wanted to give back to someone else and show them the same kind of love. Via KLRC we were given a family to sponsor for Christmas. The dad had cancer a couple of years ago and had been in remission. The day after Thanksgiving 2007 he went in and they found several inoperable brain tumors. The family had already been financially wiped out on the first go round of cancer and they were not going to have a typical Christmas. We had so much fun picking out things for all four family members and delivering the gifts to their home. The dad was so optimistic saying he knew that he would get through this and that God had a plan for him and for his family. They definitely ministered to us during our visit. Sadly to say, we helped this family have one last big Christmas together. Only three months after they found the recent tumors the dad went home to live with Jesus. Today I received an e-mail from the mom and I wanted to share just a small portion of it as she is spreading such a testimony and I know that her husband and God is proud of the way she is "seeking" Him in all of this.
"....A few weeks ago I was talking with a friend of mine and my husband's at church and I was sharing with him some details of what God has been doing in my life over the last few years in order to bring me to the point that I am at today. He listened very attentively and had a smile on his face the whole time I was sharing with him. When I came to a stopping point he looked at me and asked me if I knew what a jeweler does when he is working with gold and silver. I said no not really. For a moment I wasn't sure where he was going with this, but it didn't take me long to figure it out. He began to explain to me that the gold or silver has to be heated up it has to be put through the fire so to speak so that the jeweler can work with it and mold it into what he wants to make. After it is shaped the jeweler begins to polish it. Then, my friend asked me "Do you know how the jeweler knows when it is ready? I said no once again. He said the jeweler knows when it is ready by being able to see his reflection in the piece that he has made. ----I quickly saw the relevance of his story to my life, and anyone else who has gone through or is going through a fire needs to recognize that God is simply refining us so that he can see His reflection in us. God gave me the scripture Zechariah 13:9 before I had heard this story and it is talking about the cleansing of Israel and it says "I will refine them like silver and test them like gold". The verse has much more of an impact now knowing the story of how the jeweler creates his piece of work. Whenever we face the different trials in life that come at us we need to persevere. God doesn't want us to give up, but Satan does......"
Such a good reminder when we are going through something hard. Please lift up a little prayer for this woman and her two children as they have an uphill battle ahead of them.
Blessings to you today!
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