This Is Fire

All our lives, we dreaded it. They threatened to throw us in the fire and they did. They threatened to throw us in the lion’s den and they did. They threatened the law against us, to take us to court and they did. They threatened to kill our children and they did. We feared being forsaken and we have been. We feared being alone and today we are all by ourselves. We did not want them to leave yet they are gone, we waited for the call that was never to come. We feared their death, yet they died. We never wanted to be in Coventry, yet we are right in the middle of the town. We feared the dark nights, but now we are in the midst of the darkest of nights. We asked for the cup to pass over us, but ‘no’, it did not, every drop of bile we have had to gobble down.

That which we feared came upon us and yet we are still standing! The fire did not scotch us, the lion’s mouth has been stopped, our adversaries are confused, what is meant for evil turned round for our good. What was meant to destroy us made us stronger. We have been to the deep dark forbidden forest and survived the terror of the night and now we can say, though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil. We ate poison and it did not kill us. We picked up the serpent and yet survived. We have been abandoned and left to be destitute yet we thrived. All our afflictions made us stronger than when we started.

The fire that we thought will consume us became the catalyst and cleansing force for our creativity. The shock that was meant to electrocute our heart, revived and awaken it. The trial that was meant to take us out gave us our second wind. The loneliness and hunger that was meant to steer us into depression dropped us into flow and awoken our consciousness. The unknown terrorised us but today we stare at the unknown with uncovered eyes. All night we wrestled with the angel of God, we now limp, our hip bones have been wrenched, yet, we received our blessing, we struggled with God and man. We overcame, our name has been changed forever!

This is fire, we’ve been in it, we are not singed but changed for the better. Rejoice when you fall into diverse temptation, for the trial of our faith produce patience making us mature, complete and lacking nothing.