A few years ago I was looking for a creative outlet.  I wanted to learn more about the essence of creativity itself.  I chose blacksmithing because blacksmiths used the rawest of materials from the earth to form their tools.  I did not want to go to this extreme, however a lack of working funds was a problem.  I prayed for provision.  I searched the internet and learned about blacksmithing but the tools were expensive.  Then one day as I was meditating on the problem I entertained the thought that if I had prayed for provision, then God had already answered my prayer.  My responsibility was to not waiver in my belief.  I chose to believe my prayer had been answered.  As it happens there was a large resource of industrial metal waste in an area nearby.  The landlord gave me permission to use whatever I wanted as long as I didn't create a mess.  My vision began to enlarge as I sifted through the debris.  A piece of electrical conduit became a pipe for an air supply to my forge.  The discarded brake drum became the fire pot, and a hand pump from Walmart provided air pressure.  An old metal drum allowed me to create pure charcoal from wood lying about.  Before long I had a hot fire in my new forge. 

My next goal was to make a pair of tongs to hold projects with.  I had 3/8" mild steel that had been taken from old railings.  I mangled piece after piece into unusable lumps.  At the end of the day I still had not made a successful pair of tongs.  Frustration began to set in.  I took a break and decided that I would not go inside until my tongs had been made.  With determination fueled by desperation I laid hold of the steel one more time and hit it harder and with greater intensity.  I was going to have my tongs or else!  In about ten minutes I had my first pair of workable tongs.  I was on top of the world! 

If you look at the photo on this site of me holding one of my first knives, you will notice that it is not an attractive knife most people would be proud of.  I have gone on to do better work, improving a little more with each effort, but this one was my first workable and properly tempered blade intended for use on my barbecue. 

I want to encourage you to believe that if you need something, and it is within the will of God, then He has already provided.  For me, what needed to shift was my vision to see what was right there in front of me with a creative eye.

Mark Douglass

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