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Refiners Fire


Currently I am in a Diagnostics class for the Counseling Program I am in.  My eyes have been opened to the reality of mental disorders that are out there!  I see diagnoses in many people, including myself.  There is a problem that I see with diagnosing someone with a mild case of anything.  I have seen it happen and I have watched a diagnosis given to someone, take over his or her life.  A diagnosis is an explanation or a generalization so that other medical or counseling professionals are able to assist that individual, they are not given to be an excuse. 
            “It isn’t my fault I went out and got drunk, I have Alcohol Use Disorder”
“It isn’t my fault that I do poorly in school, I have Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder”
“Depression runs in my family, so that explains why I am sad all the time.”
It is easy to give into a Diagnosis, to agree with it, to see what you have in common with that diagnosis; it is easy to then identify with that “disorder” and to use it to define who you are and what you do.
The disorder can define you, destroy you or develop you into a different person.  The hardest part is letting it develop you. 
That is where my struggle is right now- I don’t have a particular diagnosis, but I am struggling with some things in life that need to be changed and I could let that destroy me or define who I am going to be, however, I am trying to choose to let it develop me.  I know that god has a person in mind that He wants me to be, I just have to let it happen and work through it.  It is not fun going through a fire, but how does the silversmith know that the silver is refined enough?  He can see His reflection in it. 
I am trying to go through the fires of this year, I have not gone through with grace or with comfort or with peace, but I am definitely going through them.  I know that if I don’t let the bad stuff come out, the silver won’t be ready for much longer than it is taking now. 

Psalm 66:10
For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver.

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