“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 1:2-4
My wife, Carol, came up with this idea of being thankful for the tough times in the past and all the benefit that came from the struggle. Life is a series of peaks and valleys. If not for the valley before and behind we would never celebrate the summit with fists in the air and that feeling of accomplishment in our hearts.
I did some climbing years ago with some courageous disciples, Phil Hildebrand, George Sowards and Clay Jackson. We climbed all over Joshua Tree National Park, Yosemite's Cathedral Peak, Pt. Dume in Malibu and other amazing locations. There is no reward if the struggle isn't real. The summit is only as sweet as the challenge was to get there. (Yes, that's me fifteen years ago)
Some of our past struggles may still bring some pain as we revisit them. Find the blessing in those struggles. How did you grow? What did you learn? Identify each summit for every struggle and attach value to those tough times with gratitude in your heart.Make a two-column list:
Struggles I’ve Survived and Strengths That Have Surfaced
Have fun growing in gratitude today. Hope this helps. See you tomorrow,
-Jay
3 comments:
The hardest times in our life are the biggest times we learn. I have learned more now, and shared what I have learned more since being diagnosed with a fatal condition.
I trust the Lord my God is using me to encourage others who do not have the strength to fight. I am grateful for every hard lesson that comes my way, because without those lessons, I would not have learned how to be content in every way. I would never be able to relate to someone who suffered the same experiences.
I praise God for the valley, because only from there do you see the majesty of the summit. the will to climb that peak comes from the full view of where you are not.
Praise be to God who is our help in all situations.
~Sami Pennnington
I have found that when I am in the valley it is difficult to have a faithful spiritual perspective of what I am learning. I tend to get bitter or resentful that I have to learn something in this difficult and painful way. But when I get past the worst of it, if I have done the work I need to do, I do appreciate what I have learned. It takes a lot of work to process my feelings and weaknesses and understand the lessons I need to learn. I often need help from friends and my therapist to get as much as I can from situations. I need lots of time to process what is going on, often through journaling. But the rewards are worth it once the worst is past.
This climb I am currently on is a long one. Spiritually, being on a mission team was tough. I lost some of my perspective perhaps on the way down the mountain due to some mid level clouds. Once I got into the valley I found that climbing back up was gonna be to hard and so I almost gave up. Thanks to the POWERFUL scriptures, Jesus sacrifice, and Gods grace I am writing this today. Following along with you, Jay, has helped to soften my heart. I guess once I got down there I couldn't see the top of the mountain because
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