Salutations from the Far East! That is to distinguish it from
the “Near”, and the “Middle” Easts. And I am the farthest of the Far. (If you
are a humanities major please do not write me of my outdated orientalist view,
let me just use this literary license please.) I am still pushing along and
still fighting strong. I don’t mean this to sound like it is a struggle, but in
a sense it is. Every day is in some way for all of us trying to do what is good
and right. If we are not thinking about our progress on a daily basis we are
standing still by definition. And I do not want to stand still. I want, and
need to move forward. That doesn’t mean that every day is an adventure or a
thrill, because some are just ordinary. So as days go as they added up to a
week, this one was not the most eventful of my mission.
I failed to hold anything live that could technically be eaten,
whether I wanted to eat it or not, but I did have my first encounter with
"Bible Bashers". So maybe it was eventful after all.
First I need to explain some backstory to the aforementioned
experience. My companion and I were merrily on our way to the bus terminal when
we crossed paths with some women who were proselyting for another faith. They
saw us first and stopped us. They wanted to talk so we did what we always do.
We were polite and didn't argue and traded a pamphlet for their newspaper. We then
went along our merry way and didn't think any more of it. Unbeknownst to us, one of the women called and
asked to set up an appointment to talk with us, I believe with the intent of
arguing. All our caller said was that she had received a pamphlet and was interested
in learning more about our church. We were so excited! We wondered, “how often
do people come looking for you?” We made an appointment for a few days time and
decided to meet at a local café. As we approached the café, my companion
recognized the women from our previous encounter and worried aloud that it did
not look good. I was still kind of optimistic. I thought maybe they had some
real concerns and questions. Unfortunately, my companion's prediction turned
out to be very true. We of course entered the café and greeted them politely.
However, they immediately began what I would call haranguing us. I have never
been harangued. It was a new, but very unpleasant experience. I felt doubly
horrible because I could not understand anything the women were saying. They
were quite emotional and loud for respectfully polite Korean women. All I could
understand was "Jesus Christ" and "Bible's promise". They
were saying over and over again in rapid-fire delivery. It wasn’t that I felt
bad that I couldn’t understand them; it was that I was leaving my sweet
companion to fend for both of us all by herself. She is a native Korean and is
so very polite and quiet. I watched her maintain her demeanor in spite of being
barraged in tandem. She was more patient and kind than I thought was possible
in a situation like this, and I knew that she was relying n the Holy Ghost to
guide her in how she responded to the women.
I watched her continually try to excuse us from the situation, but her
Korean politeness maintained that she not be rude. So it actually took us over an
hour to leave the situation. Even though she was “Rosie” and I was her “Sophia
Grace” (oh pop culture I love you), I still felt a little worse for wear. It
was stressful to say the least, and I might even choose eating Korean blood
sausage over it the next time, but I have to say I am grateful for the
experience. These are the things my testimony is made from. Being smack dab (my
grandma’s word), in the furnace of affliction.
It was after going home that evening feeling that I somehow
lacked in my ability to stand tall and bear Christ’s image in the face of
adversity, I came upon the scripture that titles this post. What particularly
caught my eye was the simple preposition “in”. “In” is a preposition of time.
In any language they need to be used exactly, because they designate very
specific meanings. “In” indicates a location, so around, over, under, beside,
or on does not have the same meaning. It also designates immediacy, so before,
or after means something different too. The scripture says: “I have chosen the
IN the furnace of affliction”. It is often IN the very midst of our trials that
the Lord calls us. It is during our trials when our faith is being tested to
its limits. It is then that we are asked to make a decision. Not before we
enter, and not after we are released, but while the heat is scorching our face.
It is IN our affliction when we choose to stand strong It is IN our affliction
that we hold fast to our faith to sustain us. And it is while we are IN our
affliction that we become tempered and refined. Sadly, sometimes we cower when
the heat rises and we search for an easy exit, or at least an open exit. My
companion didn’t cower, and neither did I, but I think she got charred while I
just got a little singed. However, we both emerged with a stronger faith than
before. If while we are in our affliction of furnace we search for that easy
exit, we are doing ourselves a great disservice. By choosing to cool our feet we
deny ourselves opportunities to grow. Not just to grow, but also to become
stronger and more resilient than we were before.
The words that precede this scriptural passage say: "For,
behold, I have refined thee". The common analogy of the refiner's fire to
affliction is well known. Raw ore cannot become beautiful silver until it is
heated in a crucible, in such high temperatures that all of its imperfections
are burned off, leaving a metal whose distinct characteristic is described as
having a glossy reflection. It becomes more pure through the process. I can't imagine that this is a pleasant
experience for the sliver; perhaps it feels that its state of ore-dom (I’m
using the word whether correct or not), is beautiful just the way it is, and
that it was happy living in the rocks, they are safe and no one expects
anything of it. It is comfortable and content in its current state. However, this
is because the perspective of the silver is so limited. It cannot see its
potential. It has no concept of the luster that it is capable of reflecting. It
cannot even imagine what it has hiding in its crusty crevices.
We are the same. We might feel that we are fine just the way we
are, that our progress is fine just where it is. We may feel that our life is easier
when we know where all the exits are, and we are ready to use them. However, we
cannot see what the Lord does. He alone knows who we can become. But we agreed
a long time ago that we would search for our potential when we came to earth. I
know…we always make promises without understanding what we are really getting
into, but that's why we have been given help. We have been given the Holy
Ghost. Sometimes we take HIS hand and step into the furnace deliberately, and
sometimes we just cling to it as we find ourselves pushed into it.
I miss you all and I love you very much,
Sister Annie
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