� 2001-2006 by Shiloh
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*lips twitch into a soft smile* Yes indeed, life is hard. More popular versions of the saying are "Life's a bi***, so get over it," "Life's hard, then you die" and "Life's hard and it just keeps getting harder."
I said life is interesting because in searching for a tale or some lore dealing with Friday the 13th I came across this short story in the angels section of Unsolved Mysteries.
As the lady handed it to them suddenly the teacup spoke. "You don't understand," it said. "I haven't always been a teacup. There was a time when I was red and I was clay. My master took me and rolled me and patted me over and over and I yelled out, 'Let me alone!', but he only smiled, 'Not yet.'
"Then I was placed on a spinning wheel," the teacup said, "and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. 'Stop it! I'm getting dizzy?' I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, 'Not yet'
"Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I wondered why he wanted to burn me, and I yelled and knocked at the door. I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips and he shook his head, 'Not yet.'
"Finally the door opened, he put me on the shelf and I began to cool. 'There, that's better,' I said. And he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. 'Stop it, stop it!' I cried. He only nodded, 'Not yet.'
"Then suddenly he put me back into the oven, not like the first one. This one was twice as hot and I knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. All the time I could see him through the opening nodding his head saying, 'Not yet.'
"Then I knew there wasn't any hope. I would never make it. I was ready to give up. But the door opened and he took me out and placed me on the shelf. One hour later he handed me a mirror and I couldn't believe it was me. 'It's beautiful. I'm beautiful.'
"'I want you to remember, then,' he said, 'I know it hurts to be rolled and patted, but if I had left you alone, you would have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled. I knew it hurt and was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that you never would have hardened; you would not have had any color in your life. And if I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't survive for very long because the hardness would not have held. Now you are a finished product. You are what I had in mind when I first began with you.'"
MORAL: God knows what He's doing for all of us. He is the potter and we are His clay. He will mold us and make us, so that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill His good, pleasing and perfect will.
I just find it interesting what with all that's been going on this summer, it was my luck to run across this story. It just reminds me, and I'm sure it'll remind Heather too, of the lesson we were reminded of last week. Going through hell is sometimes worth it, to be all we can or are meant to be. Without zee Refiner's fire we will be nothing more than a formless lump of clay or raw ore.
*corner of mouth turns up in a one-sided smile* Just call this summer the Summer of Self-Discovery. As I mentioned before I've been on zee road of it for roughly nine, 10 years now. Heather embarked on her own journey a year ago towards it, and Kirk, floundering, is so close to beginning his sojourn. Both Heather and I see his potential, and he really is a diamond in the rough. Unfortunately, right now he can't see the forest for the trees and is missing his worth. (I may be mixing my metaphors, but I don't care right now.) I talked to him last night and he is so despondent. He's tired and fed up with the stagnation of his life, and his unhappiness consumes him. It's all he thinks about. And that's his problem. He thinks, but he won't do! He's fighting this refiner's fire and the longer he does, the longer he'll suffer. I just pray he holds up under the stress.
As for Heather, *soft smile* she's taking form, or her true self is emerging. Last week was only one of the many kilns she'll have to go through. But it'll be worth it to see and be friends with the person that's trying to come out.
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