A couple of summers ago my wife and I got to take an Alaskan 
cruise/tour. As I've talked about it earlier posts it was fantastic and 
we would go back in a heartbeat.
However, one of the 
fun things included in our schedule was a stop at a functioning gold 
mine and the chance to pan for gold. Having never done that before my 
wife and I like many others were pretty shaky in our technique.
I
 found myself swirling these little stones, sand and water around being 
fearful that I was going to lose the flecks of gold in the process. 
However our instructors reminded us that gold is the heaviest thing in 
the pan and it will stay there as it settles to the bottom. Sure 
enough after a good number of minutes we were left with just the gold. I
 still have those flecks of it in a drawer at home.
So 
often in life challenges or relationships we too can spend a lot of time
 on things that don't matter that much and miss the gold.  It's right 
there in the pan but we get all caught up with the other stuff.  What might gold look like?  Here are a few suggestions.
Gold might be the good things that come out of our challenges.  You
 may be going through an especially rough period right now.  And when 
those times come we can start feeling sorry for ourselves or stay 
focused only on the hard parts. Sometimes we need to see the little gold
 nuggets of good that are coming out of our climb and be thankful for 
those.
Gold might be the little positive things a child or spouse does even
 when we're not getting along or doing well. Go find some gold in that 
person today and you might look at them differently and handle the 
resolution of the conflict more positively.
Gold might be an opportunity to help someone else today rather than just focus on your own stuff.
God could be stopping and noticing the miracle of life, a sunrise or a mountain view that takes your breath away.  Stop and see the gold God has put all around you.
Get the idea?  You can find all sorts of gold if you'll just work at it a little. As they used to say, "There's gold in them thar hills," so look for bits of gold in your world.  You'll be richer for it.
Gary's blog for couples and parents plus resources for individuals, leaders and churches.
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