Shine Bright Like a Diamond

           Diamonds shine brightest on the darkest tapestries. As much as we hate it, the same is true with human lives.

            I was recently reading from a biography on radio newscaster and personality, Paul Harvey. Years ago, Harvey’s son, Paul Junior, spent an extensive amount of time researching the story of a boy named Joachim. He was a Jew trapped in the World War II concentration camp of Bergen-Belson.

            As he neared his 13th birthday, Joachim appealed to a rabbi, also a prisoner in the same camp, to help him “celebrate” his bar mitzvah. The rabbi agreed and during the middle of the night, away from anyone who could hurt them, the rabbi gave Joachim his bar mitzvah.

            Afterward, the rabbi also gave Joachim a scroll of the Torah. He told the boy, “I am not going to survive this; I'll die here, and you're going to go on. Take this Torah scroll, and I want you to remind people who see it of what happened here.”

            Shortly thereafter, the Allied army liberated Joachim from the concentration camp. He went on to become an exceptional physicist and had the privilege of working on one of the space shuttle projects. He became acquainted with one of astronauts, and he related to him his story at Bergen–Belsen. He also gave the astronaut the Torah scroll.

            The astronaut was so honored, he decided to take the scroll with him on his mission on the space shuttle Columbia. Tragically, the astronaut, Israeli Air Force Col. Elan Ramon, was killed along with the six other astronauts on Saturday morning, February 1, 2003, over the forests of east Texas as they were descending to land.

            Space shuttles missions had become so routine, even American citizens typically paid them scant attention. Yet, because of this tragedy, the whole world was watching. Consequently, the Columbia tragedy drew the attention of the world to the Torah scroll, and to the story of Bergen—Belsen.

            Adversity in human lives provides the tapestry that allow the “diamonds” to shine brightest.

            Paul is the ultimate example of someone who got this. Consider his encouragement to the Corinthians, 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong (II Cor. 12:9-10.)

The Mighty Mesquite

            When I lived in West Texas, I hated Mesquite trees. For one thing, I was allergic to them. For another, I thought they were ugly!

            Having said that, James Dobson helped me appreciate one quality about them. He compared them to a tree in the rain forest.

            A typical tree in the rain forest has an easy life. Water is always available. Consequently, the tree does not have to grow roots very deep. Unfortunately for the tree, a mild storm can blow it over to its death.

            On the other hand, a West Texas Mesquite tree is lodged in that region’s dry and unwelcoming land. The adversity leads the Mesquite to drive its roots at least thirty feet down into the soil on a water finding mission. As a result, the most terrible winds of West Texas cannot force the tree to topple. It is anchored to the ground. Adverse conditions actually energize the tree to create a strong survival mechanism.

            Perhaps that is one reason God allows us to face adversity. Mull over what our brother James wrote, “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way (James 1:2-4 THE MESSAGE.)

            Nothing like hard times to help us grow deeply rooted in Jesus.

  

Source: James Dobson, When God Doesn’t Make Sense

The Dog Bite that Saved a Family

            Legend tells of the Clark family in Scotland. Many years ago, they had a dream to immigrate to the United States.

            The two parents worked and saved for themselves and for their nine children. After several years, they had saved enough money and had arranged for their passports. They booked passage on a new ship sailing to the United States.

            Seven days before they were to sail, the youngest son was bitten by a dog. The doctor was fearful that the dog had rabies; he ordered the parents to quarantine their son. This meant the family could not sail.

            Mother and father were terribly disappointed. They were angry with their son, and, frankly, they were angry with God.

            Five days after the ship had embarked for America, word spread throughout Scotland that the mighty Titanic had sunk.

            That was the ship the Clark family was to have sailed upon.

            When the father received word of the tragedy, he ran home and hugged his son. He thanked God for saving their lives. What was seen to be a tragedy had in fact been a blessing.

            Perhaps you have experienced a similar occurrence in your life.

            Or maybe you are enduring a set back right now, and someday you will discover that it was a blessing.

The Rat and the World Series

         Lou Gerard was a cameraman for NBC. One night, he was standing behind his camera in back of the scoreboard at Fenway Park in Boston. NBC was broadcasting game six of the 1975 World Series between Cincinnati and Boston.

         The game had gone into extra innings. Lou heard something squeaking in the dark shadows. He looked for his flashlight; shining the light, he spotted the biggest rat he had ever seen.

         His director, Harry Coyle, called to him on his headset, “I want you to follow the flight of the ball if the batter hits it.”

         Petrified, Lou called back on his headset microphone, "Harry, the biggest rat in the world is in here with me. He is as big as a cat. I don't know if I can move the camera.

         Coyle asked, "What are you going to do?"

         Lou replied, "Maybe, I can just stay on the batter and see what happens."

         And he did.

         What followed became one of the most iconic television images in history. The batter was the Red Sox’s Carlton Fisk. Fisk hit a game-winning home run, and Gerard’s camera captured Fisk pleading with the ball to stay fair.

         Sometimes, our best work is a serendipity of our adversity.

Source: THE LONG BALL by Tom Adelman

Obstacles

            So often, I see, in Scripture a God, who uses obstacles to make and mold us into the image of His Son. In thinking about this, I am reminded of an old parable:

The Obstacle in Our Path

 In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway.  Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock.            

Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the big stone out of the way.

Then, a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road.  After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse laying in the road where the boulder had been.  The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king, indicating that the gold was for the person, who removed the boulder from the roadway.

The peasant learned what many others never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one's condition.

            For the Christian, every obstacle does present an opportunity for improvement of one’s condition. Not for monetary enrichment, but for spiritual enrichment, because the adversity can serve as a tool of God to become more transformed into the image of Jesus.