For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God... Romans 8:18, 28
Dear Rhys,
The Lord has spared me from anything close to what you are experiencing, so if the above words came from me, they might ring hollow. But I hope you can find encouragement, because the man who wrote them was no stranger to suffering, as we read in 2 Corinthians 11:
23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. [People have died from receiving this once.]
25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
And as he sat in prison awaiting execution, he wrote at the end of his final epistle,
And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 2 Tim. 4:18
Wow! He knew he was about to be killed, and he still said "The Lord shall deliver me..."
There is a lot we don't understand, but I trust that one day we will be given explanations. We will find out why there was a seemingly pointless car crash and say, with Paul, O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! (Rom. 11:33)
Sheila only worked at the hospital four months, but that is only a shadow of what is to come. She will be alive again, and she'll be loving and encouraging people far longer and far better than she ever did in this life.