“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

The thought of our trials being a joy is a stretch for us. All too often we find ourselves feeling sorry for all that is facing us, hiding our heads like ostriches, instead of claiming this promise. Someone once told me to consider the oyster and its way of coping with nature’s tricks: a grain of sand becomes a pearl. Something of value comes out of something which was irritating. Shall we be like an ostrich, hiding our heads at the sign of adversity? Or are we to be like an oyster, accepting trials and problems and finding ways to overcome them, allowing us to grow? What will today bring?

OH LORD, HELP US TO SEE THE GROWTH AND THE JOY THAT CAN COME FROM THE STRUGGLES WE FACE. LET US CLAIM YOUR PROMISE,AND USE IT TO HELP US GROW STRONG IN OUR FAITH AND SERVICE.LET US CHOOSE TO BE OYSTERS, NOT OSTRICHES, IN OUR APPROACHTO LIFE. AMEN.

– Shared by Nancy Cousa