"James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:
Greetings. My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.
If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the field; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. It is the same with the rich; in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away.
-James 1:1-11
When I was growing up there were some obvious hardships. The teacher who gave me a bad grade, the friend that didn’t call, the part time job I didn’t get, the move to another city. Anytime something happened, my mother’s response was “it builds character." By the time I was 16, I would stomp my foot and scream “I have enough character!”
Resiliency comes in the face of adversity. No matter what that is. Some are better able to tolerate adversity than others. I find it is all relative. None the less, the more I have faith that the adversity brings with it a “lesson”, another piece to my foundation, the more positive my attitude to the situation and the direction my life is going. Someone once described it as being leaves on a tree as opposed to the branches….blowing with every waft of wind, twisting and turning, or being strong and stable, holding all those tiny leaves together. If I have faith, I can stand tall, gaining strength from my roots and the branches around me because I know my challenge will build character.
"Dear God, provide me the strength and support that allows me to see adversity as an opportunity. With you as my foundation, I am safe and strong. Amen."
