Refining my Soul

Job 23:10 But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.

Refining gold requires a furnace. The fire is stoked to 1947.52 degrees Fahrenheit- the melting point of gold.

The gold is placed in a crucible with flux only until it melts completely. After the gold is molten, it is poured from the crucible into a mold. When it has cooled, the impurities are removed. When the purified gold becomes hardened it is tested with acid. If the gold does not dissolve in the presence of acid, it is pure.

In many ways, life and grieving are comparable to refining gold.

One is completely broken open, destroyed, molten into a puddle of something unrecognizable.

Then poured out into a new mold that may or may not resemble one’s previous life.

Just as things seem to be cooling down and the impurities have been removed, the acid wash comes along just to check to see if the purity is real and the lessons are learned. If not, I suspect that the path leads right back into the furnace…

And so it goes: furnace, cool down, acid wash, sparkle

I will find my sparkle, no matter how many times I must go through the fire. But of one thing I am certain:

G-d, the author and conductor of the universe, will be with me every step of the way.