Sandpaper

A vintage piece of furniture is sanded down to remove the old, chipped stain, to refresh its worn appearance with a fresh coat of glossy stain. If that old furniture could speak to us, it might say, "Why do I have to go through this 'bad circumstance?’ I hate sandpaper. You must not love me."

As a new mom, I despaired when my baby skipped naps and became overtired. I assumed the day was now ruined, and I wore an attitude of doom and gloom for the remainder of the day. One day a friend mentioned that her baby had skipped a nap, but then she said, "It will be fine. Maybe he'll go to bed early!" Her attitude inspired me. Is it really a "bad day" if my baby skips a nap, the car won't start, or the store is out of milk?

Sure, any of these circumstances could be labeled as "bad," but maybe that is all in perspective. Proverbs 15:15 says, "All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast." The proverb doesn’t say the one that has a merry heart‘s circumstances are better; just his attitude. And yet he is actually enjoying his life: he has a continual feast!

In the moment, I don’t always see how each part of my life is being used for good. But I know that God can bring blessings out of hardship (Rom. 8:28). What if I let unpleasant moments or hard times mold me to be more like Christ, instead of turning to despair?

Peter says that the trying of our faith is "much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire," and that it "might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." 1 Pet. 1:7. When we allow God to refine and sanctify us, the reward is far better than any earthly gain.

Grumbling and complaining leads to bitterness, but if I approach the day with open hands, accepting whatever comes my way, I am allowing God to gently mold me to be more like Him.

Instead of resisting the sandpaper, maybe we could allow our tough times to sand away the faded, old varnish to make room for a beautiful new coat of stain.