People talk about “refining yourself” like it’s supposed to be painful, where growth has to feel like punishment. But Mark says his daily devotional (Oasis in the Desert) changed how he thinks about it… There’s this idea of burning off the dross from metal — as a slow and gentle, necessary step toward becoming stronger. He’s stopped looking for some dramatic intervention in growth, but instead just enough change to keep him from burning out, to get a little closer to who he wants to be. As it tu