Feeling the Squeeze!

I have felt a few times in the last week or so like I'm being squeeeeeezed.  Some of the pressure comes from myself.  Some of it comes from plain old life.   I also think it comes from God.  But not in the "you'd better get your act straight or you're in big trouble!" kind of way.  Not in the "live up to my expectations or I'll be disappointed and so will everyone else" kind of way.  (That kind, unfortunately, that tends to come from yours truly.)  

The kind of pressure that comes from God (dare I say it?) is the kind that transforms sand into rock and carbon into diamonds.

I woke up yesterday with the idea for this blog title and almost immediately had this image pop into my head.  

It made me laugh.  We've had these around for years.  You probably know the drill...  1st you fill it up with as much as you can.  Then, of course, you SQUEEEEEZE IT and all the extra stuff comes oozing out the sides of the mold.  Extra stuff that doesn't fit or belong.

 Trim it off and you have a finished product!  (That's Bob the Builder's friend Wendy, in case you were wondering...)

I know God is fashioning me into someone He can use even more fully in His Kingdom.  Like Wendy has, He's giving me the tools I will need.  He's reshaping me.  But I'll tell ya...  It's not always fun.  And I'll bet money that you already know that and are agreeing with me.  But wouldn't you also agree that it's worth it?  I know that I reeeeaaally don't like the squeezing process, but I also know that I always appreciate the freedom that comes after.  And I'm trusting and expecting that the mold is going to open (soon, Lord!) and I'll be able to breathe a bit easier.  And I'll tell Him thank You.  Again.

Now, if you're like me, you might be jumping ahead to poor little Wendy here going through a firing process where she's baked and hardened and then sanded and glazed and fired again...  I know.  But for tonight, I'm just going to rest in the idea of breathing better when the mold is open.  We'll deal with the fire when we get there.  : )

2 Corinthians 4:7-9 "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  We are hard PRESSED on every side, BUT NOT CRUSHED; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."  

Hallelujah!

Day 21