And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also:knowing that tribulation worketh patience;And patience, experience; and experience, hope. Romans 5:3-4
I learned a lot about dealing with adversity from my mother. A single parent of four children, she never complained and continued to take on what life sent her. Because of her stance, I was able to graduate from college in spite of our family hardships. I share some of what I learned from her in this radio interview on family issues and adversity.
Moving into adulthood I further discovered that life has its hardships as well as battles, of which most of us get assigned to. Or I thought some didn’t and used to envy those people whose lives seemed to go through the right stages at the right time. Whole birth family, graduating school, getting married, securing careers, having kids — all done by age... everything seemed perfect. No ugly surprises restricted their life passages. Now what I know is that even though tribulations tug at our sanity, there are many personal ‘gets’ from seemingly unfavorable situations. Tough times can provide insight into such questions as:
- Am I still roadworthy?
- Did I gain some lessons from this struggle?
- How would I score myself in this life test?
- What does this say about my life’s navigational chart?
Sometimes we need these trying experiences. My faith has sustained me through many tribulations. There’s an expression reminding us that “A dose of adversity is often as needful as a dose of medicine.” The wisdom and growth that comes from those undesirable moments can put us out to sail on, ‘being all we can be’. Temporarily being cast into hardship can deepen our resolve and strengthen us as go from storm to shore. Drop into it adversity. Don’t drift away.
More can be found on how I've handled adversity in my motivational memoir: Navigating Life's Roadways: Stories of Insight from My Odyssey and Inspiration for Your Journey, available on amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Navigating-Lifes-Roadways-Stories-Inspiration/dp/1453849858/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
Those trials make you into more than you ever could have or would have been without them. There is always a blessing in disguise and the trick to happiness is KNOWing it is there and looking for it as soon as you can because the sooner you find it the sooner you will feel good again.
ReplyDeleteYour emotions are actually a sense, like seeing, tasting, smelling, touching and tasting. When you learn to read the guidance they provide you will always know which direction serves your best (higher) interests.
Indeed! Thanks for your comment.
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