Fire

The more I've dwelled on this idea of equating grief with fire, the more I have needed to find out about it. Fire was used symbolically and literally throughout the Bible. Christ manifested Himself as a burning bush to Moses. God is described as an 'all consuming fire'. Fire was required to make sacrifices and offerings. For most of my life I was fearful of fire and viewed it solely as a force of destruction. It has an entirely different meaning to me now. It represents renewal. Reshaping. Refining. I've always loved watching glass blowers. The way that the glass melts and is then manipulated into something entirely different is fascinating. Glass is not maleable until it has come in contact with intense heat. Before the day my mom passed away I would classify my heart as hard. Decisions and choices were only about what I thought would serve me the best. My perspective was finite. Enduring the intense heat and pain that followed in the year after my mom's death softened my heart and my will. Everything that I had to hide behind and continue to distract myself from God's whispering was systematically taken away. With each event I would think, "ok, this is it. My heart can't possibly take anymore." The fire became hotter and melted away the things keeping me from becoming who I was created to be. Forest fires are allowed to burn at times because they allow for new growth later. I'm afraid of who I would be now if I hadn't experienced the fire. I'm so thankful that Jesus loves us enough that He uses evil for good and makes everything new.