Do you ever find yourself wishing for the fairy tale life? I know I have! I have sometimes wondered.......how much better would my life have been if I would have had it "this" way or "that"......you know, more money, happier childhood, etc. But the truth is our trials are what makes us better people, if we choose to be better. When we have problems, tragedies, or have been wronged by others it is up to us how we react. We can be bitter and choose to stay that way or we can ask the Lord, "What do I need to learn from this?" We can blame someone else or blame our situation for our problems or we can take responsibility for our own actions and thoughts and try to move forward.
Don't get me wrong! I am not saying that if we have been wronged by another that we should just get over it and move on with our lives as if nothing ever happened. Not. at. all. However, I do believe that with the Lord's help, we can overcome anything. It may not happen overnight, but with faith and perseverance we can come out victorious. With God all things are possible. The truth is life can be hard. It can be ugly. We came to this earth to go through hard times so that we can learn the lessons we need to learn. Our trials shape and mold us. Another truth is that if life was easy all the time, we would not turn to God as often as we should. We would not think to humble ourselves and beg for His mercy thinking we could handle it all on our own. We would rely more on our own strength and "worldly" things. The reality is that our trials help us to know that we need Him. That we are nothing without Him. Instead of praying that our problems will all just go away, we need to pray that He will strengthen us so we can overcome our trials. Learning all He wants us to learn while becoming stronger, having more charity.
So, if we find ourselves thinking that we would be happier, better, kinder, etc. if things had been easier for us all along the way......we are wrong. We would not be better because we would not have been stretched, pulled, tugged, shaped and molded as clay in the Potter's hands. God can make us stronger than our circumstances and can turn each circumstance to our good. We just need to ask Him for help and follow His guidance.....and endure to the end!
Our youth group went to St. Augustine this past Saturday. They had a lot of fun! No, Brailyn is not 12 years old yet........but she managed to beg her way there. Rob caved to the pressure, lol, and took her. Here are some pictures of their fun day:
It looks like Bishop (in his bright orange shirt) has joined the army, haha:
Tanner's newest most prized souvenir:
