For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Romans 8:18

Think about the hardships you’ve experienced but never expected, because we all have them in the course of this wonderful, wild, life. I pray you aren’t in the midst of something too hard to fathom. But if you are in the middle of a valley of suffering, I hope you’re leaning. I hope you know how crowded it is in this heart-wrenching place. The God we serve, the Savior we know, and the Holy Spirit we lean on—they are all here. This is a time to be thoughtful and thankful, not dismayed and discouraged. If you are a threat to the enemy of God—that is, if your heart’s desire is to love God most and your neighbor most willingly, with humility and grace—you will be tempted, tested, and tried. You will suffer beneath the bearing of your cross, and like our Savior, you will come out victorious. The path through is never an easy or painless one. It will refine you. It will remake you. It will restore you. You will be drawn closer to and become more reflective of the God who stitched every last fiber of your being together with purpose. If you are here with breath in your lungs and hope in your heart, your purpose is playing on, note by hard-fought note. God’s purpose in us moves forward, is perfected, and prevails when we are prepared to fulfill it. We didn’t enter this earth ready to be all God made us to be. It is a becoming that happens over time and in a timing He orchestrates. The tempo God sets is always beautiful, no matter how difficult the measure. 

-Bonnie