James 1:2-3
Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
I spent much of my daughter's life with her in the hospital fighting Cystic Fibrosis. Those times were not easy but they taught me many valuable lessons. I remember one particularly hard hospitalization toward the end of Maddy's life. She wasn't able to leave her room at all and we were both getting pretty bad cabin fever. So the minute we could get out of her room we took a quick trip around the hospital grounds and snapped a bunch of pictures of things we thought were pretty. We realized that even in that devastating place we could find beauty all around us. (See the photos here)
I think that is what James is getting at in this verse. No one wants to find joy in their trials. But if we make a conscious effort to seek out that beauty. If we decide that we will not let the circumstances that life has thrown our way take away our ability to see the goodness around us. We will persevere. God will strengthen us through the trial. We will come out the other side with a stronger faith. Whatever trial is being thrown at you today, I challenge you to look around and find the beauty that God has placed in your path.
