Monday, March 1, 2010

Trials In Life

As I have been thinking about life lately I have thought a lot about my blessings and how "Footprints in the Sand" has been so much a part of it.

Found on Footnote.com

As we begin life we are completely dependent on others. I have just experienced the birth of my 11th grandchild. First with my own children and then with their children I have witnessed this miracle many times. It never ceases to amaze me. I look at these little ones and see perfection. We have been fortunate to have healthy children with few deficits. As I look at them I marvel at their tiny features and how perfectly formed they are. I find their movements and their crying especially to be beautiful. I see the love that their parents have for them and the hope for a grand life. If only all children could come into this life with such love and expectations. However, that does not always happen and trials in life often times begin at birth.

As we navigate our way through life we are given some tools to work with. Some are blessed with more tools than others. For some the navigation comes easy to begin with. For others, it doesn't. I have found through long experience that all of us have deficits. Some are hidden and so we begin to believe that we might be alone in our trials. There has never been anything farther from the truth. There is not a person born on this earth that will not have to face monsters in his/her life and make choices that will have negative effects on themselves and others. The very best of us is not perfect. To think that you are is in itself a major obstacle that needs to be overcome.

Some trials involve sickness and deformities. Others are brought on by those around us. Then there are those that we bring on ourselves by our decisions and actions. Regardless of how they happen trials are a part of everyone's life. Why does it have to be this way? There must be a purpose to these trials. I do know that I would not be the person that I am without my own personal trials. Could I have been a better person had I not brought many of these trials on myself? There is not a doubt in my mind that is true. Because of that I work to with those that are younger than I am, trying to help them avoid those same pitfalls. Some will listen while others need, and are destined to experience things on their own. I will always tell people that it is better to learn from others negative life experiences than to experience them yourself. The physical ailments or any number of trials that are brought on by external sources are often considered unfair. They are, but that does not factor them out of our lives. We must choose then just how they will effect us. Will we grow from them and turn them to our advantage, or will we succumb to them with discouragement in defeat.



Death comes to all. It is a part of life. We do not generally choose when it will happen. There are so many different beliefs as to what the hereafter will bring. I have my own feelings concerning that. All of these things are important aspects of our existence, the trials we face, and how we then deal with life. Saying that I want you to know that I believe we are placed on this earth to learn and to grow through our own free agency. I also believe that there is a hereafter that will go on forever. Our time on this earth then is very short, but meaningful. The decisions we make here will pave our way into an eternal future.



















How do you view the trials in your life. Are they roadblocks or opportunities. Do you hunker down and feel sorry for yourself, or do you stand up and change. I can honestly say that I have done both, many times. As life goes on I am trying more and more to understand life and what I am confronted with. I believe that God can and will direct us if we have the faith to let him.

Out time here is short. Use it wisely and try to actually be thankful for your trials, realizing that through them you will understand life better than most. Look at these lessons as eternal and realize that it won't be long from now that they will end, but the lessons learned will stay with us forever.

Last of all keep your head up. Realize that you are far from being alone. There is nothing that you have done in this life or you have gone through, that has not happened to others, both good and bad. If this gives just one person hope then I am happy that I have shared it with all!

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