The threshing and bruising of the corn

I recently read a book by Hannah Hurnard called Hinds' Feet on High Places.  It was one of the most encouraging books I have read, and it is now one of my all-time favorite books.  It is an allegorical story to our Christian walk with the Lord.  The main character's name is Much Afraid, and at one point on her walk with the Lord, He leads her down into the desert (Eygpt).  There Much Afraid saw a woman pounding bread corn with heavy stones.  She saw what a LONG process it was of pounding the bread corn by hand before a fine white powder was formed- which was the finished product and was now ready for use.  In the book, the Shepherd says to her "though corn bread is bruised, no one threshes it for ever, only until the bruised and broken grain is ready for its highest use."  This is exactly as the Lord does with us.  We are shaped and formed through trials and tribulations. But through heartbreak and loss, bruises and threshes, through our tears, He is making us into who He wants us to be.  And this continues through our entire life here.
As I was reading this section of the book, I immediately thought of the maize mills in Malawi.  I photographed one maize mill at the Selengo MOH center.  They had just installed a generator not long before we arrived, and this took so much of the work off of them.  Previous to the generator, the grinding of the maize was ALL done by hand!!  The generator was such a blessing to the fact that the fine white powder they used to make their staple, Nsima, was ground at a much faster rate and in much larger quantities.  Here are some images from the maize mill: 













Much Afraid at first didn't want to go down into the desert, as the path lead away from the high places.  But look at what the Lord showed her, what He taught her.  Later, Much Afraid says "You are my Shepherd whose voice I love to hear and obey, and that it is my joy to follow you.  You choose, my Lord, and I will obey."


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