Good Times, Bad Times

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.  1 Peter 4:12-13

Painful trails are simply part of life.  In fact, Jesus assures us all that we will encounter trouble at some point over the course of our lives.  While we must experience some pain, God promises us that He loves us and that He will use those painful times to help us grow stronger in our walk of faith.  

I don't know where to begin, but the past couple of months have been difficult for me and my family.  We lost our family pet, Charlie, two years ago then a year ago this month we remembered our puppy Lucy who lost her battle with Parvo.  To say that those were painful times and an emotional roller-coaster rides would be a grand understatement. 

Despite the tears and heartache, I know that God has remained by my side, which has kept me strong.  Knowing that He will always be with each one of us helps us so that we can learn to endure, grow in our faith, and learn patience.  You see, despite our circumstances, our trials provide us with an opportunity to depend on God and to lean on Him as we share in the sufferings like Christ did.

Bad times (thankfully) come and go, but the development of our godly character is continuous and will last until we leave this broken world to go to our eternal resting place in heaven.