Dianne - A Story about a Bent Jacked Up Tool in a Tool Box with the Name Jesus on it.
Before we get to the story of Dianne, let me share with you a chapter from Max Lucado’s book called, SHAPED BY GOD, from chapter 15, Anvil Time. Then you can read my less gifted writing.
“ON GOD’S ANVIL. PERHAPS YOU’VE BEEN THERE.
Melted down. Formless. Undone. Placed on the anvil for…reshaping? (A few rough edges to many.) Discipline? (A good father disciplines.) Testing? (But why so hard?)
I know. I’ve been on it. It’s rough. It’s a spiritual slump, a famine. The fire goes out. Although the fire may flame for a moment, it soon disappears. We drift downward. Downward into the foggy valley of question, the misty lowland of discouragement. Motivation wanes. Desire is distant. Responsibilities are depressing.
Passion? It slips out the door.
Enthusiasm? Are you kidding?
Anvil time.
It can be caused by a death, a breakup, going broke, going prayerless. The light switch is flipped off and the room darkens. “All the thoughtful words of help and hope have all been nicely said. But I’m still hurting, wondering….”
On the anvil.
Brought face to face with God out of the utter realization that we have nowhere else to go. Jesus in the garden. Peter with a tear-streaked face. David after Bathsheba. Elijah and the “still, small voice.” Paul, blind in Damascus.
Pound, pound, pound.
I hope you are not on the anvil. (Unless you need to be, and if so, I hope you are.) Anvil time is not to be avoided; it’s to be experienced. Although the tunnel is dark, it does go through the mountain. Anvil time reminds us of who we are and who God is. We shouldn’t try to escape it. To escape it could be to escape God.
God sees our life from beginning to end. He may lead us through a storm at age thirty so we can endure a hurricane at age sixty. An instrument is useful only if it’s in the right shape. A dull ax or a bent screwdriver needs attention, and so do we. A good blacksmith keeps his tools in shape. So does God.
Should God place you on his anvil, be thankful. It means he thinks you’re still worth reshaping.” (END OF MAX LUCADO
WHAT FOLLOWS ARE DIANNE’S WORDS FROM HER HEART…
On the cold, hard anvil. Hammer constantly pounding, reshaping. Being formed. Being molded.
He’s still working on me, to make me what I ought to be. God will continue to work on me until I gain my wings.
I have been reshaped by the Master. His skillful work has shaped me into a lover of others. Molded into my being a compassion for others.
Hammered out the lies and deceit that I thought was needed to make people like me…love me.
I cried out for attention and learned that what Dianne really needed was to be on the anvil and have that bent for favor in the worlds eyes hammered out. The attention I longed for was found in Jesus. He lavished me with love and constant care. I am a reshaped tool for Jesus.
When I cried out for mercy, thinking I was finished, He showed me His scarred hands. I then remembered His work on the cross…humbled and thankful, although thankful isn’t big enough for what He endured for me and you.
When I get “out of shape” for Jesus or when I lose sight of the path I should be on…my Master, my friend, my Lord is there. With tears in His eyes and hammer in hand ready to mend this wayward daughter named Dianne. Thank you Jesus for thinking that much about me.
Thank you for reading - please pass it on.
Always Smilin’,
Dianne
The tool that knew she could:
Be used by God
Be a valuable instrument in advancing the Kingdom of Jesus Christ
Be reshaped
Share Jesus through her walk
