“He who knows no hardships will know no hardihood. He who faces no calamity will need no courage. Mysterious though it is, the characteristics in human nature which we love best grow in a soil with a strong mixture of troubles.”–Henry Emmerson Fosdick
Going through a difficult time is never easy! We are not particularly thrilled when we are in the middle of hard times, and often are filled
But there is a positive side to all of this and believe it or not, you tend to gain so much more after having passed through tough times than if you were to continue sailing through everything without adversity. We tend to take for granted what comes easily, and will appreciate much more the things that we have to fight for. There is no victory without a battle, there is no triumph without a trial, there are no roses without thorns, to gain beauty you often have to suffer a bit.
I was just thinking of a tough project I had gone through not too long ago where we were trying to set up a youth center to train young people for volunteer work. We received a large property with an old style farm-house on it that lacked heating and some of the more basic necessities, and it was given for our use for a very low price because we had agreed to fix it up in exchange for a long-term contract for our work. Not have a great financial backing we had to approach different businesses to ask for their help in the way of donating the needed supplies. The work on it was huge and we were for the most part new at this type of work, but with time we were given a lot of help by experts to do the more technical jobs. The house had, no heating, well water that needed a purification system since it came from an impure source, and the walls and windows had to be redone.
We went on with this work for 4 years, 3 of those 4 years we had no heating as this was the most difficult item to get help with. Thank God the first winter was very mild, but that did not last all that long. The area where this farmhouse was is known for its humidity and when winter set in, almost every day there was a thick fog that took half the day to dissipate. Each year that went by was becoming more and more difficult to face, and the situation became a bit depressing to say the least as the cold would reach deep down to the bone! We finally got the heating working and then our time was up for this particular project.
You might think, how can there be anything positive come from torturing yourself for these 3 years? Well, I’ll tell that , since this time after having spent most of my living years in the comfort of a warm house and environment, today, there is not a day that goes by that I don’t thank God for heat, clean water to drink from the tap and a comfortable place to lay my head. Even the seemingly simple and “normal” things of life can be taken for granted and overlooked, until you have had to experience a time without the things that today you just take for granted!
My parents, as those of many others who have gone through a World War, and the Great Depression learned through those times to appreciate the value of everything they ever had. We grew up with most of what we needed and even wanted! Today, however we are faced with a serious economic situation that is surely going to help us to grow to be wiser, more saving, more thankful tomorrow, once things finally start turning around. There is so much that you can learn through adversity and times of trial and tribulation that whilst in the midst of it all can cause you great despair. In the meanwhile, hold on tight, don’t lose hope …ever, once the roller coaster comes to a halt and you finally get down, you will feel a bit wobbly for a little while , but once you find you footing, you will be strengthened more grateful that it is over with and that you are still alive to face the next adventure!
Have you had it rough and learned from difficulty? I really do like it when you comment!
