Good Morning, PHazel !!
The trials & tribulations we have undergone/are undergoing can only mean ONE THING : Christ is right in back of you, propelling you straight into His Heavenly Kingdom of Joy, Glory, and everlasting Peace!! Remember that Bible verse that says, "through much tribulation ye must enter into the Kingdom of Heaven" ? (Acts 14:22) Also see 2 Thess. 1:4-5.
So, as I've indicated, we can rejoice EXCEEDINGLY when we see we are persecuted (harassed, looked-down-upon, etc.) and suffer great emotional and mental pain, because that can only mean ONE thing : Christ
HAS YOU in the palm of His Hand and is working a thing of Great Beauty, when all is said and done!
Sure, it HURTS to go through all these things, BUT when we go through the dark tunnel of the birth canal and come out into the Light of pure Love, Joy, Peace, Goodness, Kindness, Gentleness, Faith, Patience, and Self-Control (the 9 Fruits of the Spirit), we
ARE then
Pure Gold (tried in the fire of all those "hasslements", to coin a new word! ha!). So, like the saying goes, "Hang in there, Baby!!" (even if it feels like it's only by the skin of your teeth sometimes! I've BEEN THERE!!! Whooey!! ) And, boy, you'd better NOT think I'm "bragging"!! I've HURT SO MUCH throughout all my life, that I despaired of even Life itself more than once!!!!!!!!!! What I AM saying is that it
DOES PAY to PERSIST on the sacred Spiritual Path that God outlines for us so plainly in the Scriptures. And, as in my case, that includes such things like refraining from retorting when someone says something "snippy" to me, refraining from getting angry (for two reasons : #1 - "He who can make you angry CONTROLS YOU." and #2 - God WILL do Justice to the offending person -- NO ONE can escape Divine Righteous Justice....believe me, I KNOW!! ). It is our MOTIVES that God looks at, whenever we think, say, or do something. "Blessed are the
PURE IN HEART , for they
SHALL SEE God."
Have a
WONDERFUL Day, PHazel !!
Linda