BEAUTY FROM ASHES

“Did you say twenty?! Are sure that you counted right??”  “Yes, darling, you heard right. I did say twenty bars of gold.” I could feel my eyes popping out as our family friend shared her story with us.

Mary said that while her eight children were still small, she found a job as a nanny for a rich Mormon family. Little did she know of the abuse and maltreatment she would receive from such family. Many times she felt like resigning, but she needed the money badly.  

The day that changed her life started while she was watching the children play in their backyard. It had rained the previous night. As she sat down on the grass, she saw not far away from her, the rusty surface of a metal bucket barely emerging from ground. She got up and started digging with her hands, until she took out the bucket. When she opened it…she staggered back at the beautiful sight before her. She couldn’t believe her luck! She had found gold—20 bars to be exact. It was apparent that it had been hidden away for many years, so much so, that the current owners of that house had no idea of it’s existence. Once the children saw the gold, they hurriedly ran back to the house to share the good news with their parents.

Unfortunately, Mary was fired. She wasn’t even allowed to touch the gold she had found. According to them, each bar was worth about $15,000. Mary’s worries could have disappeared just with keeping one bar! Her children could have been given the best clothes and gone to the best schools; there would have been no worries about where their next meal would come from. She couldn’t believe that she was fired after discovering all of that gold! There were twenty-eight members in that family. She had cared for all of the children since their births. She had been with that family for years. Yet, all of her hard work, sweat, and tears didn’t matter at that moment.

“But you know what?” she continued, “I thanked God for letting them fire me. I was getting tired of their abuse. Yes, I could have lived like a queen had I kept that gold. But God would not have given me the experiences I have now. I wouldn’t have learned how to trust Him more. I have never lacked anything. My children are all grown up now and I’m surrounded by many grandkids. God took care of me then and will continue to care for me now. If He is aware of the needs of a little bitty sparrow, what makes me think He’ll ever forget about my needs? I can truly say, I don’t regret leaving those bars of gold. Doing so, made me know God’s presence in a deeper way.”

Mary showed no remorse or hate towards that family or the circumstances in which she was placed afterwards. She recounted that story with such a joyful spirit and with a huge smile on her face; there was no doubt in my mind that this woman of faith, knew what it meant to fully trust in God’s goodness.

I learned that there are times when we will wonder as to why God allows certain things to happen in our lives; why He doesn’t open the doors WE want opened; why He leads us away from what our hearts desire; there is a simple answer. His ways are higher than ours. His plans are so much greater than ours. But we must first understand that fully trusting in Him means, stepping back and saying: “Thank you, God. Because even though I don’t understand your ways, I believe that they are so much greater than mine. You only have good thoughts towards me.”

I ask you now: Even though there’ve been times you haven’t gotten your “bars of gold”, will you still trust in God’s sovereignty? Will you let him guide you to places higher than you could ever imagine?

“But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.” Psa 13:5-6

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