Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Do you like cashews???

Do you like cashews? I do...in fact I like pretty much any nut. Their wide availability is one of the smaller reasons why this is my favorite time of year. Why am I telling you this you ask? Well, I received this email yesterday and I found it very uplifting, especially during these trying times. I also found it very timely, as now every time I eat a cashew I'll be reminded of how God is "roasting" me in order to burn away my outer shell. Really confused now...well, read on and I hope you like it as much as I did!

Weekly Encouragement from Women of Faith and Friends
Tender Adjustments
Have you ever seen a cashew in its shell? Me neither. It turns out that a cashew has caustic oil between the nut's inner and outer shells. To rid this delectable treat of its acerbic element, the outer shell is burned or roasted off, and then the nut is boiled or roasted again to remove the inner shell.
Life's hardships often feel as though someone has turned up the heat on us, and we wonder if we'll survive. Yet I find when I've been "roasted" long enough in life's difficulties, my outer casing of bad attitudes, preconceived notions, and high-mindedness is burned off. I'm left meeker, less defensive, more pliable, and less caustic.
Jesus died for every "nut" in the land . . . even the hardest one. And for that, I'm particularly grateful. -Patsy Clairmont

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