“Forged In Fire”
It’s been a year since Butler PA. It’s been a year since Trump unexpectedly turned his head, and turned a messy head shot into a graze. Some rejoice and even suspect Divine intervention. Others grieve the fact that the shooter missed and wish he were a better shot. It all depends on your point of view. Or rather, it depends on your heart. If you have one or not.
But when I recall Butler PA, I think of the TV show “Forged in Fire.” Contestants were given access to scrap steel, then assigned to make a knife, a sword, or an axe. It was instructive to watch them heat the metal red hot, mold it into shape, pound it mercilessly, dunk it in cool liquid, and then repeat the whole process until a usable knife resulted.
That’s how you make something sharp and tough: Repeated hammering and stress. Parents who try to make their kids’ lives stress free are not doing them a favor.
But, you object, that doesn’t excuse Trump’s obvious faults. Moses lost his temper and killed a man, but the Lord chose him, not his calmer brother, Aaron, to lead His people. David was a murderer and adulterer, but the Lord allowed him to remain king. The Lord doesn’t see things or people the same way we do.
The mere fact that Trump survived a near-fatal assassination attempt does not prove anything in itself. Hitler also survived a near-fatal attempt. But it does make us stop and think. Maybe the hammering and stress hardened Trump into something hard and tough. Maybe that is just what we need. Maybe “forged in fire” is more than the title of a TV show. Maybe it should be “forged under fire.”