When the Heat Is On

“That poor pregnant lady,” a man remarked to my husband as I walked across the parking lot to meet him. To which my husband replied, “Yeah, that’s my wife.” It was past the middle of August, and the heat was on. Triple-digit heat. And at eight months pregnant, I sure was feeling it.

Things were heating up for our family too. My husband had just started a new job. Our daughter was starting kindergarten. And our second child was on the way through what had been a complicated pregnancy.

We were hoping I could make it to 38 weeks. And I did, at which time I was induced into labor. Shortly before the end of August, we welcomed a baby boy into our family. 

Well, most of us anyway. Our daughter wasn’t too thrilled at the time about having a baby brother. And with almost six years between them, their relationship has certainly been an interesting one through the years. 

But when push comes to shove, they always have each other’s back. And neither of them are strangers to the heat. They’ve both been through the fire, as have their dad and I. 

As I wrote about in a prior blog post (Beauty from Ashes), when we’re in the fire and it’s engulfing us, all we can think about is surviving.  And sometimes, despite our best efforts to contain it, the fire grows and spreads, taking on a life of its own, and we find ourselves gasping for breath. Yet, though the fire is all around us, it does not overtake us.

For God is right there with us in the heat of it all. Protecting us, walking with us, refining us. So that not only are we able to withstand the heat, we are able to emerge from it different than before. Stronger and wiser. More resilient and more equipped. With better perspectives and understanding.

And now we know, when the heat is on, it’s an opportunity for God to continue refining us, shaping us, and transforming us into something more. Something better. Something for our good and His glory.

---

“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.”  Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭2‬ ‭(NLT‬‬)

“I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”  Zechariah‬ ‭13‬:‭9‬ ‭(NLT‬‬)

“Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honor and glory when Jesus Christ returns.”  1 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭(CEV‬‬)