This Thanksgiving, instead of hosting a big family event, we packed up the kids, grabbed the snacks, forgot at least three things we meant to bring, and headed into the woods for a camping trip.
(Gasp! The shock! The horror! No formal table setting, no last-minute scrubbing of baseboards for guests who wouldn’t have looked anyway.)
Just us. Our babies. A fire pit. And a mountain of marshmallows.
One night while roasting a marshmallow — watching it puff, bubble, and turn golden (or in my case, fully catch on fire like a tiny sugar torch) and not so gently reminding Tater Tot and Basketball Boy to blow out their marshmallows, not swing them around like tiny, flaming lightsabers, I realized something:
The fire changes things.
And sometimes? It changes them for the better.
I don’t like cold marshmallows at all. But roast one, char it a little, make it gooey and warm, tuck it between graham crackers and chocolate? I’m sold.
But Miss May refuses to touch anything with “the black stuff” on it. If her marshmallow even thinks about getting hot, she’s out. She wants her marshmallows untouched and unbothered.
And there, in the glow of the campfire, I realized:
We’re all a little like marshmallows.
We go into the fire one way… and come out changed.
⭐ Fire Changes Things — And Us
Life has seasons that feel like fire — seasons that stretch us, soften us, overwhelm us, refine us, or push us into growth we didn’t ask for.
Stress.
Transition.
Waiting.
Heartbreak.
Rebuilding.
Healing.
The middle parts God doesn’t rush us through.
The marshmallow doesn’t stay the same.
Neither do we.
Sometimes the fire brings out sweetness we didn’t know we had.
Sometimes it strengthens us.
Sometimes it reveals what really matters.
And sometimes it just strips away what we weren’t meant to carry anymore.
⭐ The Hebrew Children: God in the Fire
It brought me back to the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3. It’s the three young men thrown into a fiery furnace because they refused to bow to anything but God.
The furnace was so hot it killed the guards who came near it. But when King Nebuchadnezzar looked inside expecting ashes, he saw something astonishing:
“Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unharmed,
and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” — Daniel 3:25
God didn’t save them from the fire.
He saved them in the fire.
They walked out:
- Unburned
- Unharmed
- Not even smelling like smoke
But they were changed — not by the flames, but by the presence of God in the middle of them.
- Moving in God’s Plan Without Having All the Answers
- Why Mom Guilt Feels So Heavy: Easter Chaos, Comparison, and Keeping Your Eyes on Jesus
- When the Church Uses a Lot of Words but Says Very Little
- Don’t judge from the pew: you don’t know the whole story
- Joseph, Step-Parenting & Obedience That Chooses Family
⭐ Your Past Isn’t a Problem — It’s Preparation
Every season you’ve survived has shaped something inside you.
Not one chapter of your story has been wasted.
And I want you to hear this with tenderness:
Your past does not disqualify you.
Your past develops you.
Mine hasn’t been perfect either.
I escaped two abusive marriages — one made more painful by infidelity, another made unsafe because of addiction. I’ve been a single mom with no job, standing in the quiet of a small apartment wondering how I was going to make it. I’ve sat alone in a hospital room during COVID holding a newborn, praying God would give me the strength to do it all alone and protect us from being found.
Those were fire seasons.
Hot.
Heavy.
Lonely.
Shaping.
But even in those moments, I was blessed beyond measure.
God moved me into work roles that felt intimidating but grew into a real career.
He opened doors I didn’t know existed.
He healed places I thought were permanently broken.
And He placed me in the path of a man I can only describe as a gift God handcrafted specifically for me and our family.
So no — your past does not define you.
But it has prepared you.
Prepared you to love deeper.
To see clearer.
To walk wiser.
To trust quicker.
To stand taller.
Your story is not evidence of failure — it is evidence of God’s faithfulness.
⭐ If You’re in a Fire Season Right Now
Maybe life feels too hot.
Maybe you’re tired of being “refined.”
Maybe you’re longing for relief.
Hear this:
You will not come out of this broken.
You will come out different.
And different can be holy.
God is with you in the fire.
He always has been.
He always will be.
And one day you’ll look back and say:
“This fire didn’t destroy me.
It changed me.
And it changed me for the better.”
Just like that marshmallow — softened, sweetened, strengthened, and ready for something new.
⭐ GUIDED PRAYER
Lord, thank You for being with me in every fire.
Help me trust You in the seasons that feel overwhelming.
Refine me with purpose, soften what needs softening, strengthen what needs strengthening.
Heal my past, shape my present, and guide my future.
Let me walk out of every trial with Your presence all over me.
Amen.
⭐ DEVOTIONAL ACTION STEPS
1. Identify Your “Fire Season”
Name the area where you feel stretched or refined. Awareness brings clarity.
2. Reflect on God’s Presence
List three ways God has shown up for you in past hard seasons.
3. Release What No Longer Serves You
Ask God:
“What am I still carrying from the fire that You want me to let go of?”
4. Celebrate Your Growth
Write down qualities you now have because of what you’ve lived through.
5. Speak Life Over Your Journey
Repeat:
“My past is preparation, not disqualification.”
Leave a Reply