Lessons from a Jungle Camp Cookbook

As I was sitting in the dining hall kitchen yesterday afternoon waiting for our bagels to finish baking, I decided to look for some recipes in a well-worn book from 1976 called the Jungle Camp Cookbook. Eventually I found a good brownie recipe and then randomly came across a poem in the same section, which turned out to be a great reminder to me about trusting God with the bigger picture of life. Since my Easter update is going to be rather late, I thought I would share the poem here…

He sat by the furnace of sevenfold heat

As He watched by the precious ore

And closer He bent with a searching gaze,

As He heated it more and more.

He knew He had ore that could stand the test,

And He wanted the finest gold

To mold a crown for the King to wear,

Set with gems of a price untold.

So He laid our gold in the burning fire,

Though we fain would have bid Him “nay,”

And He watched the dross that we had not seen,

As it melted and passed away.

And the gold grew brighter and yet more bright

But our eyes were so dim with tears,

We saw but the fire –not the Master’s hand

And questioned with anxious fears.

Yet our gold shone out with a richer glow,

And it mirrored a Form above

That bent o’er the fire, though unseen by us,

With looks of ineffable love.

Can we think that it pleases His loving heart

To cause us a moment’s pain?

Ah, no; but He saw through the present cross

The bliss of eternal gain.

So He waited there with a watchful eye

With a love that is strong and sure,

And His gold did not suffer a whit more heat

Than was needed to make it pure!

-H. L. Roush

(FYI: this update was actually written a few weeks ago but I didn't get a chance to post it until now)