A friend on Facebook recently wrote about a bad vacation experience…you know the type where you walk a few miles, in the rain, in a strange country wondering how much farther to your hotel or missing the last train stop of the evening and wondering how to get back not knowing the language or where you are or how about spending a vacation with the entire family only to have it rainy one day (necessitating buying rain ponchos), cold another (necessitating buying gloves and hats) and yet another day being warm and sunny (necessitating buying sunglasses & sunscreen!) or how about a near drowning at a Christian family camp (these are a few of my personal “bad” vacation happenings).

As I was thinking of my above mentioned vacation mishaps I realized those are the times I tend to go back and relive.  They were stressful, scary and frustrating but have left a permanent mark in my memory of their surrounding conditions and outcomes – made it home wet and tired, found a bus driver willing to listen to my broken Italian and get us home, had fun laughing with the family as we prepared for each new days weather conditions and God’s grace and mercy were shown to me by giving me super-human strength that day my son almost drown.

It seems God has a way of teaching us through our rough experiences…With my son’s near drowning I learned the desperate cry and ache of almost losing a child (for those who have lost a child I am not saying I know how it feels…because I don’t, merely the desperation of “what could have been”).  Having cancer – I learned I’m very comfortable knowing where I’ll be after death.  Moving to Kenya – yea, this is definitely on the rough experiences list but I’m learning (it’s a continual lesson) how to let God be the all in all in my life and allowing Him to direct my daily steps.

We were never promised an easy life:

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.  John 16:33

Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written:  “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”  Romans 8:34-36

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  2 Corinthians 4:17

Notice these verses are telling us we will have trouble, hardship will be there but it won’t separate us from “the love of Christ”, our troubles are teaching us of God’s glory.  I may not always be thankful right away for my “bad” situations but God continues loving me and showing me what it is He wants me to learn.