Extracting the Precious

Many years ago, I was seeking direction for my life when I suddenly remembered a scripture from the book of Jerimiah: "If you return to me, then I will restore you; and if you extract the precious from the worthless, you will be my spokesman." There has been a lot of 'worthless' in my life. Working through trauma is tribulation, separating the wheat from the chaff. It is a refiner's fire, separating the gold from the dross. Every moment of this life is a chance to extract the precious from the worthless.