Yesterday my wife and I celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary. We had to stop and ask ourselves where the time went. On our trip to California this past weekend, we saw one of the flower girls for our wedding. When she came for our wedding, she was fixin' to start school. Now she's half way through high school. Time sure does fly.
We've been really blessed. I thank God everyday for his blessings in our lives. We have good jobs, a loving family support system and a great community to live in. As wonderful as the fellowship was with family and the weather was in California, nothings beats home. In fact, when we first arrived in San Diego, my daughter said she wanted to move there. But by Sunday night, she told me, "daddy, let's go home. I miss my house." And off course I thank God for my daughter. She's brought unspeakable joy to our lives. I didn't know I had that much capacity to love. In talking with friends and classmates who are all now parents, the same thought came through. It's all about our kids and their lives now. I guess it's what they call the maturation process.
As blessed as we've been, we haven't been spared our tough times. We've been challenged in more ways than I can count. I had my bout with cancer. Tile lost a brother and I lost a niece. And the normal things couples go through. But I'm reminded of the story about an old man that got an anniversary card from his grandson that said, "Happy Adversity." The grandsons' 'mistake' was actually a pretty accurate summation of how the Christian life is sometimes.
We make the mistake that when we become Christians we should expect an easy life. But that is far from the truth. In fact, we are told to expect hardships and trials. Jesus tells us that in this life, there will be trouble. And not only that, we should consider our trials as "pure joy." The Bible teaches us that adversity is a wonderful teacher that brings about perseverance. And perseverance brings about faith. So whatever hardships we go through, there's a purpose for it. And remember that God will never put you through what you cannot bear. So don't be offended if somebody wishes you 'Happy Adversity.'
We've been really blessed. I thank God everyday for his blessings in our lives. We have good jobs, a loving family support system and a great community to live in. As wonderful as the fellowship was with family and the weather was in California, nothings beats home. In fact, when we first arrived in San Diego, my daughter said she wanted to move there. But by Sunday night, she told me, "daddy, let's go home. I miss my house." And off course I thank God for my daughter. She's brought unspeakable joy to our lives. I didn't know I had that much capacity to love. In talking with friends and classmates who are all now parents, the same thought came through. It's all about our kids and their lives now. I guess it's what they call the maturation process.
As blessed as we've been, we haven't been spared our tough times. We've been challenged in more ways than I can count. I had my bout with cancer. Tile lost a brother and I lost a niece. And the normal things couples go through. But I'm reminded of the story about an old man that got an anniversary card from his grandson that said, "Happy Adversity." The grandsons' 'mistake' was actually a pretty accurate summation of how the Christian life is sometimes.
We make the mistake that when we become Christians we should expect an easy life. But that is far from the truth. In fact, we are told to expect hardships and trials. Jesus tells us that in this life, there will be trouble. And not only that, we should consider our trials as "pure joy." The Bible teaches us that adversity is a wonderful teacher that brings about perseverance. And perseverance brings about faith. So whatever hardships we go through, there's a purpose for it. And remember that God will never put you through what you cannot bear. So don't be offended if somebody wishes you 'Happy Adversity.'
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