Refined Like Silver

I can't believe its been 2 months since I have posted. 

An update on our situation since the car accident:   My husband has had a lot of pain in his shoulder, they said it was dislocated, had torn muscles etc...doctors can't seem to agree.  He was finally given a few sets of cortisone shots and is going to start physical therapy.  He is also waiting for an mri approval for his lower back.  I have had testing done on my back and have some herniated discs and am going through physical therapy (which is not working).  I see an orthopedist next week and will probably get some shots of my own.  We've had many sleepless nights and painful days but we are getting through.  Baruch Hashem for His mercy and help in getting us through this tough time. 

Should we be bitter when we have these circumstances hit us out of the blue?  How do we handle it?  Where does our strength come from?

I was just watching Jewishtv.org.  They were talking about a passage (Malachi 3) that says G-d will sit like a refiner and purifier of silver.  A silversmith will sit in front of the hot fire, and put the silver in the hottest part of the fire to refine it.  He must hold it there and watch it so it gets taken out at the right time.  If the silver stays in too long it gets destroyed.    G-d watches us during our hot spots and holds us.  The part I liked about this story is when the silversmith is asked when he knows the silver is done being refined.  He says its simple:  when he can see his reflection in the silver he knows it is purified. 

When we go through a tough time-and we will for sure-we can feel comfort knowing G-d is holding our hand as we go through it.  When the problem ends we can rest assured we may have been through  a rough time but it was a time of purification.  We will have learned something from it, gotten closer to G-d, close enough that he can see His reflection in us.  Wow!