My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a b

Even when life challenges us, it's a gift beyond all measure.

Maturity' really means: being very unsurprised by, and calm around, pain and disappointment.

If seeds saw dirt as their enemy, they would lose out on the opportunity to grow.

Life is full of challenges thus that you spend Get used to it

Thrice he assay'd, and thrice, in spite of scorn,Tears, such as angels weep, burst forth.

What does not destroy me makes me strong.

Because of our own ignorance and unbelief, we often fail to understand the Lord's dealings with us, and we are all too ready to complain. If we knew everything from God's perspective, we would rejoice.

We shall see that what we once mistakenly called afflictions and misfortune were in reality blessings without which we would not have grown in faith. Nothing happened to us without a reason. No problem came upon us sooner, pressed on us more heavily, or continued longer than our situation required. God, in divine grace and wisdom, used our many afflictions, each as needed, that we might ultimately possess an exceeding and eternal weight of glory, prepared by the Lord for His people.

We very often fail to see our present circumstances in right perspective. Look back over the past, however, and compare what you have been brought through with your frame of mind during each successive period. Consider how wonderfully one thing has been connected with another so that what we now count as our greatest benefits are

Failure does not shape you; the way you respond to failure shapes you.

God seldom calls us for an easier life, but always calls us to know more of him and drink more deeply of His sustaining grace.