etsy.com When I was growing up, my sisters and I loved to make crafts with Shrinky-Dinks. If you’re not familiar with this art medium (that’s actually way too fancy of a category for this particular activity), then let me explain. Actually, I’ll let Wikipedia describe it: “Shrinky Dinks is a toy and activity kit consisting of sheets of  polystyrene  which can be cut with standard household scissors. When heated, the cut shapes become about nine times thicker while their horizontal and vertical dimensions reduce to about one-third the original size, resulting in hard, flat forms which retain their initial color and shape.” This craft project was most popular in the 1980’s, but it was originally invented by a couple of Wisconsin moms in 1973 as a Cub Scout project to do with their sons.   Several months ago, I got to relive my childhood as I baked a tray of Mother’s Day/Father’s Day keychains made from Shrinky-Dink plastic and decorated by kids in the preschool where I work. Pro Tip: You’ve got to turn on the oven light during this process to fully appreciate what happens. The thin squares of plastic were arranged across the baking sheet, with colored pencil markings which were a bit haphazard and didn’t always cover the entire area. But right before my eyes, I saw those pieces shrink. The corners lifted, then obediently stretched back down. They convulsed for half a second, before lying flat again. Then the timer buzzed, letting me know that it was time to take them out of the oven. Now the colors looked more vibrant and the pieces became sturdier. And none of that would’ve happened without the intense heat of the oven. (You could also use an Easy Bake Oven, if you’re feeling especially nostalgic!)   If those little pieces of plastic had feelings, I’m sure they wouldn’t want to go through the pain and difficulty of their time spent in the oven, but that’s what brought about their new and better versions. It’s like we read in several places in a letter that the Apostle Peter wrote to many of the churches in Asia Minor to encourage them as they faced persecution. For instance, Peter said, “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”   A few chapters later, he said, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed…If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.”   And these moments of suffering aren’t for nothing. They have a purpose. 1 Peter 5:10 says, “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” We may want to avoid the trials—I mean, what do you expect from a bunch of flimsy plastic like use?—but God never wastes anything. He’s refining us and building up our faith. Also, there’s a prize waiting for us on the other side, and it’s even better than a handmade keychain.