"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."~ James 1:2
My pastor has been drilling into us these past 6 weeks that “pain doesn’t always have to hurt,” and reflecting on some of the difficult times from this past year on my life it is so obvious how much good has come out of everything, including my trust in God having a GOOD plan for me. Even if I didn’t want to be having those trials at the time, I can genuinely say I would take them on again, without hesitation, in order to be who I am and where I am now. Without a question, I wouldn’t be going to Haiti. I wouldn’t be hanging out with a foster kid each week and seeing her come out of her shell and change in awesome ways before my eyes. I wouldn’t be the one being blessed by spending Saturdays in the park having Church with my homeless neighbours. I wouldn’t be one of the faces greeting people as they come in to the sanctuary on Sunday. NONE of this is me, it is all Christ working in me and it humbles and blesses me to have Him use me in these ways.
Today I was reminded that "You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it " (Maya Angelou) :: Thank you Lord, for showing me who I am, what I can come out of, and what I can rise from in You. Amen ::
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