Confessions of a Peace Lover...

So, I've been thinking.how many of us choose pain over comfort? How many choose hard work over taking it easy? How many would choose to take a road that is filled with pot holes (East Holmes County residents may immediately think of County Road 207) over a nice smooth, freshly paved, road?

Sometimes we choose the bumpy road, the extra work, or even some pain if we think it will save us time but typically we try to avoid the discomforts in life. We may even try our best to ignore discomfort in hope that it will disappear without any effort on our part.

That was the case for me earlier this year. My arm hurt, actually it ached to the point I didn't even want to use it, but I had great hope that ignoring the pain would make it go away as I was certain that going to a doctor would result in MORE pain; specifically the "pain" of physical therapy. It was a bumpy road I did not want to travel!

Our comfort, our ease, our lack of pain seems to make our life a little easier. The choice may not make us strong and healthy, but it does make us way more comfortable, at least for the time being. Hmmm, do you think it's a coincidence that those choices often end up bringing us even more pain on down the road?

I wonder if that is why God doesn't check with us before He allows tests and trials to come into our lives. ("Beth, I have a great test for you"."Oh, no thanks God, I really don't have the time for that right now..")

Our decisions tend to lean toward the side of our comfort, while His are always about development - spiritually, physically, emotionally, relationally, even financially. As the saying goes "God loves you right where you're at, but He loves you too much to leave you there!"

James 1:2-4 in the Message says "Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way."

Honestly, as I look back over my years it truly is the stuff of life I wouldn't have chosen that has resulted in the most growth. And such has been the case with my trips to the physical therapist this summer. Truth is, it stunk, it hurt to use my arm and it hurt to lift the amount of weight they seemed to think I needed to lift in order to get healthy. It hurt to have them stretch my arm in order to bring more movement to it.

But you know what.my arm feels SO much better now! It's not because I'm "problem free", but it is because I've learned the exercises that need to be done to protect the problem area and develop the muscle in my arm. It's because I've learned what position I need to avoid and to use in order to keep my arm as healthy and pain free as possible.

It's because I couldn't fix it on my own, but God has given others wisdom, knowledge, and the ability to help folks like me who need some guidance and instruction.

So what trial are you facing today? What work would you like to avoid? What is making you hurt - in your body, your relationships, your wallet, or your mind? Have you thanked God for the gift He has chosen to allow you to receive? Have you looked for help, from God and from His people? Are you prepared to grow?

I know it's hard when the pain is intense, but I am convinced that our attitude in the midst of life's trials is the key to the intensity of pain we experience and the length of time we find ourselves in the midst of the challenge and the treatment!

I tell my kids "the one choice you have control over is your attitude". I hope I live that out when the pain, the hard work, and the bumpy roads fill my life. Is my attitude one of joyful anticipation of the gift that God has chosen for my life?

And will I remember to "consider it a gift" on the front-end of the next trial?

Until next time.

Beth