Diamonds

For those of us who were born in April, we get an amazing birthstone – diamonds. Diamonds are the strongest mineral on earth and one of the most beautiful gemstones. Diamonds are pure carbon in its most concentrated form. For a diamond to form, there needs to be carbon, pressure, heat, and time. Natural diamonds that occur in the earth’s mantle take years to form. Man-made diamonds can be formed through a process of subjecting carbon to heat and pressure. 

I am one of the lucky women who were born in April, and with my birthday coming up and the coming of spring, comparing diamonds to new life and transformation struck me.

As humans, we are sinful creatures, prone to choosing a different path than the one God has for us. Through our walk of life, we are put under intense pressure. Life throws us curveballs all the time. We lose a family member, we stress over pressure from work, we receive a bad diagnosis, we lose focus on others, we lose our jobs, we move to a new town, and so on. Life and being human can cause chaos in our lives, but there is hope in life as well. Just like a diamond, we are put under heat and pressure in a variety of ways. Through time and with our focus on Christ and our walk with Him, we can become a diamond in the walk of life. James 1:2-4 states, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” 

Paul also wrote to the Philippians, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14) God has each one of us on earth for a purpose, and He wants us to keep striving each and every day to become a diamond. When the pressure gets to be too much, ask God to help you stay under that pressure with joy and hope, so that the diamond that you are inside can come to life.