A traveler through the countryside of Italy stopped and watched with
curiosity as a lumberjack occasionally jabbed his sharp hook into a log,
separating it from the others that were floating down the mountain stream.
The traveler asked why he did that, and the worker replied, "These may all
look alike to you, but a few of them are quite different. The ones I let
pass are from trees that grew in a valley where they were always protected
from the storms. Their grain is coarse. The ones I've hooked and kept
apart from the rest come from high up on the mountains. From the time they
were small, they were beaten by strong winds. This toughens the trees and
gives them a fine and beautiful grain. We save them for choice work.
They're too good to make into plain lumber."
James reminds us of such truth when he wrote "My friends, be glad, even if
you have a lot of trouble. You know that you learn to endure by having
your faith tested. But you must learn to endure everything, so that you
will be completely mature and not lacking in anything." (James 1:2-4) The adversity we
face makes us just too good to be plain.
