By Katy Mariotti
Rejoice in Sufferings
“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.”
Romans 5:3-5, English Standard Version
I recently had what I’d call a bit of a rough day. My family were all recovering from a cold that had knocked us all down and was making us cough constantly. With that I woke up to discover that a bear had gotten into our truck overnight and eaten some of the road trip snacks we’d left in there (the aftermath of this you can see in this picture). So we spent part of the day assessing damage and cleaning that up. Most of the afternoon was okay, but that evening my daughter lost a tooth and put it in a place that even the most agile tooth fairy could not reach. While I was pondering how the tooth fairy was going to succeed, a fearless mouse walked right into the bathroom with me and roamed around, eventually somehow getting into the bathtub and becoming stuck there. Dealing with these problems kept me up until 2 am!
It wasn’t fun, and I was in tears by the time I went to bed. I was feeling quite sorry for myself. But the Bible tells us to rejoice in our sufferings, which will lead to endurance, character, and hope. So while I don’t want to have a day like that again, I know now that I can endure it. I called on previous experience to get the mouse outside. I have learned to be more careful about leaving food in the car and ALWAYS to lock doors.
And even amidst trials I can be grateful. The bear did far less damage to our car than I would have expected. I am grateful for our lovely house in the forest where I can be so close to wildlife, (though I’d rather be less close to mice!) I am grateful for a husband who will laugh with me about bears and still think they’re cute. I am grateful for the blessing of children no matter what their challenges. I am grateful for my best friend whom I texted in the middle of the night just to say “you would not believe this!”
Character building may not be joyful, but I still rejoice and thank God for all the blessings He imparts!
Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
