When We Long For A Life Without Difficulties

“When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.”  -Unknown

Diamonds are made under pressure…  which is really to say – no pressure, no diamonds. 

No Diamonds??!!  Frankly just typing the words “no diamonds” makes me break into a cold sweat… A world without Diamonds is unimaginable!  Because Diamonds make this world a more beautiful place!  They are so beautiful, and sparkly, and shiny, and you can’t help but love the way the light dances off of them…they are spectacular!

But it’s important for each of us to remember that diamonds didn’t start as beautiful, sparkly, shiny objects.  They started as carbon atoms in nature buried 100 miles deep into the earth’s surface.  They are subjected to a crazy amount of heat (about 2,200 degree Fahrenheit), and insane amounts of pressure (something around 725,000 pounds per square inch!).  Because of the heat and pressure the carbon atoms begin to bond to one another in groups of billions and billions in order to form a single one carat crystal. Then through violent eruptions they travel extremely fast to the surface of the earth, causing them to cool quickly enough to surface as diamonds. But even after enduring all of that their journey still isn’t over yet.  They still have to go through being polished and facetted before they finally achieve their full glory.  It is only AFTER they have endured all of those hardships that they finally become those glorious, sparkly, brilliant stones…

Each of us are like diamonds in the way we evolve throughout our own lives. We start small and we slowly grow through time and daily life experiences. Then we go through major struggles and difficult challenges and intense trials, each of which mold us into a stronger and better person. Then over time as we endure those trials and overcome our challenges, we surface as a more mature and refined person. But our journey still isn’t finished yet…we still have to go through polishing and small adjustments in order to reach our full glory.  It’s going through all of that and enduring it well that will give us our ultimate sparkle and shine.

When we long for a life without difficulties we are selling ourselves short. What we need to be longing for is the faith to see the end beauty of that will result if we endure our difficulties well.  The most beautiful things in the world result from the most difficult of circumstances. So when times are tough and we are feeling the pressure, just remember that God is just making you into a perfect diamond, so hang in there, endure it well, and just see that sparkle appear…it’s going to be SPECTACULAR!

~Amy Rees Anderson (author of the book “What Awesome Looks Like: How To Excel in Business & Life” )

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