Have you ever heard the expression “tough as nails?” In some cases, this expression is applied to a person who displays a fearless personality and exhibits no hesitancy in the verbal expression of their thoughts. Military drill instructors or drill sergeants are often perceived as having “no nonsense,” “tough as nails” type of personalities.

When you refer to a person as “tough as nails,” it is worth taking a moment to reflect on the process of how nails are made. Nails are made of carbon steel, and depending upon the type, contain a significant amount of carbon content. Higher-carbon steels are heated up to 400° F (200° C).

The nail begins as a carbon steel wire approximately 2.84 millimeters in diameter. The process includes cutting the wire into thinner rods, applying machine pressure to the rods, sending the nails through a nail-forming blade, and imbedding the nails into plastic rolls. Additional time is needed for cooling the residue applied to the nails. Extra steps are added to the process for making different types of nails. There are hundreds of types of nails, but they all have a purpose.

The life journey has a similar process that includes heat (agony, pain, suffering, discomfort), pressure (hardships, sorrow, unhappiness) and cooling (waiting, sadness, patience). This list sounds like a “What’s the point in my being here?” Let’s get to the good part quickly.

The answer to the question is: “Because you are growing.” Babies fall when trying to walk; children skin their knee or even break a bone while playing; young people fail a test in school; teenagers break up with their boyfriend/girlfriend. But everything changes. Babies learn to walk; children learn to participate in various team sports and perhaps win Olympic medals; teenagers graduate from college, and maybe later walk down the aisle for marriage. In other words, they learned through their gutter balls.

Men and women in the military all go through a process known as “basic training” or “boot camp.” It is a basic, intense training which helps to discipline the mind, strengthen the body, and teaches skills to save your life. This training is necessary for all our soldiers who keep us safe.

When you go to the grocery store, if you are like many of us, you look for fruits or vegetables, without brown or withered leaves, yellowed stalks or bruises. You go past these and look for the produce that looks the freshest. But sometimes it’s not possible to get completely unblemished fruit or vegetables. Sometimes they have a sale on these less than perfect items, so you buy them and take them home. You tear off the withered leaves and you cut off any bruises and you use them to make a great meal!

That is exactly what happens in our life journey. This is how God sees us. We are imperfect but useable. We are changing every day, not only physically, but we are growing spiritually within our souls. You may not understand the reason for the heat, or pressure, or the waiting when things don’t seem to be getting better. But like a nail, you are going through the process to make you strong and useable.

Each time you go through a less than positive situation, it is a nail-making moment in your life and there is a lesson to be learned. It is a great opportunity for you to exercise patience and strengthen your faith in God so you may become the person you were created to be. (James 1:4)

Many recognized experts and scientific minds have theorized there are several universal laws. Perhaps you have heard of a few and can name some of them. Examples are:

• The Law of Cause and Effect
  Modified interpretation: Negative energy out, negative energy in. Positive energy out, positive energy in.

 

• The Law of Relativity
  Modified interpretation: When you compare yourself to a thing or a person, you cloud your perspective and perception; you fail to realize that everything is neutral.

 

• The Law of Sowing and Reaping
  Biblical interpretation:
  “Don’t be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, so he will also reap.” (Galatians 6:7)
  

 
The Law of Sowing and Reaping is one law you might want to view as a primary influencer in your life journey. It parallels The Law of Cause and Effect—what kind of seed are you sowing? This combination never fails.
 
You may recall that in one of my earlier Nuggets, I mentioned the process of seed planting. Some of the influencers of seed planting are the soil, rain or water, and parasites. Seeds are alive, so when you plant a seed, you can expect a harvest.
 
There are certain conditions in which seeds thrive and bring forth a bountiful and prosperous harvest. On the other hand, seeds, thrown among the soil like rocks, will yield an unhealthy crop or a variety of weeds.
 
Our Biblical and world history are filled with an abundance of stories about kings, rulers, and leaders who reaped the harvest of the seed they sowed—David, Jezebel, and Saul among the most notable. Their seeds of lust, uncontrollable greed and power, and jealousy yielded devastating harvests. Their children and families were wiped out, and others met violent deaths or committed suicide.
 
What about our daily seed bag? Are we putting our seeds in soil that will yield a fruitful harvest? Planting seed is not always about money. It is also about using the seed God has given us to plant/invest seeds in the life of another.  
 
It’s giving someone a pair of clean socks or a blanket or giving a kind word that gives the person a sense of value and self-worth. It’s praying for our family and leaders. It’s lending a helping hand to a struggling family. How often do we volunteer at a shelter or become a counselor at a youth camp? Sowing seed is all of these and more.
 
Israel and the United States have survived as powerful nations despite the seeds of disobedience and our anti-God/anti-Christ attitudes. God’s remarkable grace has intervened throughout the United States’ and Israel’s history.
 
With the knowledge of His amazing grace, let us not lapse into selective amnesia and forget that The Law of Sowing and Reaping and The Law of Cause and Effect are irreversible. These laws work at both the national and personal levels. They work 24-hours a day, 365 (366 when there is a leap year) days a year, whether or not we know it. Some seeds take longer to germinate than others, but they will always yield a harvest.
 
If you don’t like the harvest you are reaping, you may want to consider changing not only the type of seeds you are sowing, but also the location and quality of soil into which you plant those seeds

All of us have closets, either physical (residential) or mental. A physical closet is a place that is private and is not opened to everyone. A mental closet is secretive—a place where we can retreat. Like many of us, we usually have stuff in our closets that we need to eliminate by discarding or giving away.
 
Because of sentimental value and pleasant memories, discarding or giving away things in your physical closet can be nostalgic. On the other hand, since the mind does not forget anything, tossing certain things hanging or stored in your mental closet can feel like struggling to climb a giant mountain. It won’t be easy.
 
Your mental closet contains a mishmash of collected stuff—different sizes, different occasions, events, situations, and people. A short list of items might include failure, disappointment, frustration, offense, and unforgiveness. If you try to recall some of them, you will discover that many have begun to fade, while others are as vivid as getting a brand-new pair of shoes.
 
Most of you probably are familiar with several of the film and television adaptations of the original Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. The story's plot focuses on a miserly, cantankerous, and bitter old business owner named Scrooge, who mistreats his employees and nephew and refuses to celebrate Christmas. In the film, Scrooge first sees the ghost of his former business partner. Later, he is visited while in bed by three spirits Past, Present, and Future. Although the film implies that Scrooge experienced these events, more realistically, they took place in his mind. Can you imagine if all the negative things we held in our minds surfaced in the same manner as Scrooge? I, for one, would probably seek medical attention.
 
If we allowed them, some of the short list items would tend to corrupt our minds. For example:

• Failure: It should be perceived as nothing more than a falling short or a lack of success by some person’s(s’) standards. Don’t let those standards dictate your steps. (Romans 12:2)
• Disappointment: It is a temporary let down; do not give it more life. When one door closes, another will open. God’s timing is perfect. This is not the end. (Psalm 37:23)
• Offense: It can be viewed as an insult. However, you can hold on to the bow and arrow of offense, or you can drop the bow and thank God for His love in the larger lesson and His purpose within you. Release your offender emotionally, and the spiritual will follow. (I Thessalonians 5:18)
• Unforgiveness: According to the Bible, there is no offense so gross that it goes beyond God’s forgiveness, except unforgiveness. Train yourself to crush your stinking memories and leave them behind. Forgiveness does not mean that you don’t have a right not to forgive, or to be angry and offended. Instead, you realize that God is the solution for your offender. (Philippians 3:13)

 
Our mental closets will significantly improve with regular and frequent cleaning. The maturity of your inner person depends upon your mind connecting to the heart, the central branch of your spiritual and moral life. The apostle Paul advises us to continually “renew our mind” so we will know God’s desire for success. (Romans 12:2)
 
Stop hoarding unnecessary junk. Clean out your closets to make room for a healthier life and greater blessings!