LISTEN ONLINEOne day, while serving as my mum’s live-in carer, we visited an art exhibit together. We were emotionally and physically drained. I gazed at two wooden row boats filled with colourful blown-glass shapes inspired by Japanese fishing lures and flower arrangements. The display sat in front of a black wall on a reflective surface—the Ikebana and Float Boats. Speckled, spotted and striped glass orbs, like oversized gumballs, were piled into the smaller boat. From the hull of the second boat, long, twisted and curved glass sculptures rose like vibrant flames. The artist had shaped each piece of molten glass through the refining fires of the glassblowing process.
Tears streaked my cheeks as I imagined God’s caring hand holding me and my mum—His beloved children—through our hardest days. As God shapes the character of His people through refining fires in life, He affirms that our hope comes from being known and knowing we belong to Him (Isaiah 43:1). Though we can’t escape hardship, God promises to protect us and be present (v. 2). His identity and His love for us make His promises secure (vv. 3-4).
When life’s circumstances heat up, we may feel fragile. We may even be fragile. But God holds us firmly in love, no matter how blazing hot the furnace gets. We are known. We are loved. We are His!