Day 2 Pearls and Costly Gems

                         "They shall be Mine," says the LORD of Hosts,
               on the day that I make   them my jewels. Malachi 3:18a
Do you ever have those days where a scream is just welling up inside? And you know you really can't let it rip (or at least it would be best if you didn't!).... Yes, well today and yesterday too, that has been this blog writers experience as I sit here tip tapping away on the keyboard and eating left over perogis for breakfast. Just so you know there is only One real Hero who never blew His cool unless you count the whip and table flipping at the temple one day. And  it is true the Holy Spirit can be grieved. Then there is the bit where God sent plague after plague to stubborn Pharoh's realm. I guess it's that God is always  righteous in the things that provoke Him and in His response. In fact God even invited negotiation in some of that. Hmm, ok then on with the devotional...

Jesus sees something in you! Value, potential and beauty. He bought and paid for you while you were still rough cut material being mined from the ground. To bring the gem to full value there is process involved. Just as, obviously, when a baby is born there is process invested in the growing of that person into full potential even though I don't wait for them to be full grown to declare them precious and valuable to me. And so it is with us in our Christianity.

There is a procedure in fashioning the stone to a useful adornment. One of the processes I want to touch on today to compare with our walk is called Tumbling.  This is not the fun tumbling in gymnastics.
 A well-chosen speed for stone polishing causes the rocks within (a)  barrel to slide past each other, with abrasive grit between them. The result of this depends on the coarseness of the abrasive, and the duration of the tumble.Wikpedia

Did you catch that part about abrasive grit? Does any one have any circumstances going on that might fall under the category of abrasive grit? (Why else would I have a scream welling up inside) God has a plan for the jewels we will ultimately be. Remember His good plan. So even though I may not like the abrasive circumstances taking me through the process of getting there, I am committed to the barrell tumbling instead of barrell jumping.

But then this almost begs the question "How long?".The precise tumbling time is determined by many factors, including the hardness of the rock and the degree of smoothing desired in the coarser steps. wikpedia Some of us come into the process with pretty hard hearts or heads. We also have some sharp barriers we have built around us to "protect ourselves" so some of that will have bearing on the overall process.

His word says I am being conformed to the image of His Son and that nothing can separate me from His love and all things work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. the book of Romans So hang in there Ruby. Hold on Pearl. Don't quit Jasper! Your brilliance is about to reflect His glory!