Tumbling Around

"A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man made perfect without trials." ~ Chinese proverb     

My grandfather was a rock hound. He could look at a dull, crusty, old rock and tell you about the beauty that was to be discovered with polishing. Some of the rocks had to be cut in to pieces to let the beauty in them come out in the process. 

That was not all of the process. He would put them in a tumbler, and for various lenghts of time determined by the type of rock, they would come out shiny and beautiful gems; but only after long periods of tumbling around and around in that drum.     

In the proper setting, many of those stones made beautiful jewelry. Their value and beauty increased far beyond what could be seen in that old piece of rock.    

Our trials sometimes cut us into pieces and toss us all around. They chip away the crust and other types of sediment that dull the beauty of Christ in our lives. When we are in the midst of a trial, it is difficult to realize that we can come out of it more beautiful, more shining with the beauty of our Blessed Savior than we were before.     

That is where the trust comes in to play. Trust in the Lord in the midst of the trying times to bring you forth as a beautiful gem. He will help you to become that beautiful stone, and he will 'set' you in the proper place to shine forth his glory to those around you. Your value and beauty increases with each new trial you come through.
  
"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."  I Peter 1:6-7  RSV
   
Have a great day; and remember who and Whose you are.
Brenda Quimby Smith

 "Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy." Jude v. 24 KJV