Hewn: To cut or chop something....

I am at the end of myself; I am exhausted and so over it. I am desperate to be settled. I have barely cooked, cleaned, or done any laundry since April 27th. Ridiculous right?

Well, on April 23 we found out that Caudill got into graduate school YEAHHH!!! We were so thrilled and excited. It was/is a big step for us. It meant/means Caudill leaving his current job, selling our house, moving to Atlanta, me finding a job and figuring out where we are going to live in ATL.

Well, 4 days after all this excitement as most of you know this happened….

We decided that we couldn’t quite put the house on the market after the biggest tree in the world (I realize this is a gross exaggerated, just go with it) fell on our abode. Check out the base on this baby.

Fast-forward 2 ½ months and here we are. The house is almost ready to put on the market, our sweet lab Lilly died (I can’t even talk about it yet), Caudill starts school September 12, I still need to find a job and we still need to move to Atlanta. My parents are being very gracious and allowing us to stay with them until we sell our house and figure out where we are going to live permanently in Atlanta,  but let’s be honest no one at 26 and married wants to live with their parents.

My parents...aren't the so cute?!

Anyway, the good news is there is so much Caudill and I are learning through all of this! I mean the Lord has our FULL attention!The Lord is shaping us in ways that hurt so good. Check out this blog post I found this afternoon. It spoke to me so much, I had to share. You can read more of her posts here: http://www.homesanctuary.com/rachelanne/ This particular post is from like 2 years ago but I loved it! The blog is based on a verse in Isaiah 51:1

                        Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness 

           and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut 

                      and to the quarry from which you were hewn

……we are going to spend some time in the quarry today.

And I do love the metaphor God uses here. Rocks. Stones. Quarries.  Words like "hewn."

See, rocks take eons of time to form: layers and layers of sediment and mineral deposits.....compressed and forged into mighty stone. The heat of the earth's core melds the elements into solid rock.  Rock that can be quarried for special purposes.

Are you in God's quarry?

I can imagine some of you "granite people" thinking God has forgotten all about you, all buried and pressured by the weight of the world.  Hey, what's the point of being the handsomest and strongest rock around if you never get your day in the sun?

But life in the quarry means that eventually the Master stone cutter will find you and start his work. 

He inspects.

He measures.

He admires your color and strength.

He envisions where you will be most useful and utterly glorifying to Him.  He contemplates your quality and sees the areas that need work.

And then He begins to chisel.

First with the heavy tools to separate you from the rest of the rock around you. It's noisy and messy and dirty. It's kinda painful, really.  But he needs you to be fully and completely His to work with, so he chips you away from what has held you back.  Finally, you are free.

The Master strokes his chin and feels His way around your rough edges.  He knows the location you're going to eventually be placed like the back of His hand.  He knows he needs a very special stone that is both strong and beautiful.  He brings out the finer tools to form and refine you. You will be a work of art by the time He is done.

"But Lord, I'm anxious to get to the place where I'll REALLY be used, like building your church!" you might be chafing under the grinding tool.  What can possibly take so long in this dreadful pit?

Ah, but you must be patient! Don't forget that the stones used for Solomon's temple were perfected in the quarry so they could be fitted into place without hammer or chisel in the house of the Lord! (I Kings 6:7)  All the flying chips of rock and dust were left in the gravel pit so that only polished stones would be brought up out of that hole.  The veins of imperfections and weaknesses had been removed so that what was left was the incredible craftsmanship of the Master.

It isn't very glamorous down there in that quarry. 

And yet.

When we submit to the selection process, the measuring, the chipping, the chiseling, the fine grinding and polishing, we will emerge ready to be placed into God's building program. We are living stones, fitted together with Jesus as our cornerstone.

Life in the quarry isn't easy, but it's part of how God builds His kingdom.  He is looking for those stones that have been beautifully marbled with life experience, sparkling with iridescent joy, and infused with the kind of faith that is borne in difficulties and pressures. He is skillfully smoothing and polishing each one of us for His purpose and glory.

Meditate on the process the Master is using in your life and know that He is preparing you as only He can. 

How great is that? I hope it encouraged you as much as it did me