Sifting for Treasure

A few months ago, a family down the street had a devastating house fire.  It was an electrical fire that began in the beginning of the night.  By the time the couple was awakened by the smoke, the room next to them was engulfed in flames.  The fire quickly spread and destroyed the house.  Thankfully, they were able to escape.  Unfortunately their seven animals did not.  The home owner was very emotional as she recounted her experience and the guilt of not being able to save her beloved pets.  She said that she and her husband would rebuild the house, but it would never be the same.

Last week this couple began the process of tearing down what remained of the house.  They watched as the bulldozer lifted the rubble to the dumpster. Then they sifted through the ashes to find anything to salvage.  As I watched them, I thought about how I, too, have sifted through the ashes of devastating events looking for hidden treasures.   Looking for purpose and meaning.  Why has this happened?  What am I supposed to learn from this experience?  What is God trying to teach me?  How can I mature and grow from this?  How can I move on?   I want to know that difficult and devastating events aren't just to torture me or break me.  So I sift.  I search.

I must admit, I don't always find satisfactory answers to my questions.  There are some events that I still question.  But thankfully, God is faithful.  He brings beauty from my ashes.  He gives me opportunities to minister to others who are facing similar difficulties.  He shows me aspects of who He is in powerful, tangible ways to bring me closer to Him.  He reminds me of important truths.  He brings healing to those painful wounds.  And He helps me rebuild using those precious treasures found in the ashes....