Have you ever felt like you were being held over the fire?  Do you have times in life when you’re taking hits from every direction—finances, health, work, relationships?  It’s almost as though they’ve come together to conspire against you while taunting: So, you thought you were in control? Maybe you’re feeling stretched beyond your limits by everyday responsibilities.  Do you have a seemingly endless line of people vying for your attention . . . wanting a piece of you, cutting away at your already overburdened life until you feel as though you have nothing left to give? If so, how do you respond?  I know for many years, even as a professing Christian, I responded to difficult times, big and small, by attempting to gain control.  I felt it was my responsibility to be strong and find solutions.  My self-imposed job title was CPMO: Chief Problem-solving Multitasking Officer.  And if I would start to feel as though I couldn’t take another step, I’d give myself the standard motivational speech: “Suck it up, buttercup!"  I had grown to accept that there is, in fact, no rest for the weary. How could I have been so wrong? Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  Matthew 11:28 Trials in life, from minor to life-altering, are inevitable.  But they don't have to tear us down.  And they certainly shouldn't launch us into control mode, stealing our rest.  If our focus is upward instead of inward, not only can we have peace in the chaos, but our trials will bring about growth. THE SILVERSMITH Having predetermined a specific design and purpose for his creation, the silversmith begins his work.  He uses one of multiple methods to prepare the silver, but fire is almost always a part of that preparation. Once the silver is ready to receive the silversmith’s shaping, he begins to conform it to the design he has chosen by hammering, bending, cutting away unneeded pieces, or whatever else is necessary to conform the silver to the shape it is meant to take.  Often, the work in progress will need to be placed back into the fire to make it more malleable, reducing its resistance to further shaping. After the silver reaches its intended form, the silversmith is ready for the final step—polishing.  He knows his creation is ready for use when it’s polished to a point of reflecting the creator’s image. Author Unknown The story of The Silversmith touched me deeply when I first read it more than 30 years ago.  And even though I was not yet mature enough in my faith to surrender my trials to God, in the years that followed, it often brought me comfort recalling the story and thinking trials could actually have a purpose when entrusted to God’s hands. I now believe that God placed The Silversmith in my path to do more than act as an occasional warm, cozy blanket.  He used that thought-provoking analogy to plant a seed…