Glory From our Troubles

God is reminding me every day that we will have troubles in this world, but that He has already overcome them. "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" (2 Cor. 4:17). I tend to become overwhelmed very easily with troubles, and my difficulties are so small compared to those in other parts of the world. I am blessed with a warm home, plenty of food to eat, an amazing church, and friends and family that truly bring joy to my life. My troubles, while they might seem like mountains to me, are truly just small hills in the wide picture of this world.

I don't have to be afraid that I will be arrested for going to church. I don't have to worry about being tortured or killed for being a Christian. I am able to afford gifts for my children and to bake yummy Christmas treats with them. My blessings are overflowing!

And yet... there are days when I can barely get out of bed. There are mornings, when the last thing that I want to do is go and cook breakfast for the kids. I have Sunday mornings where I wonder, would they really miss me at church if I decided to just hang out and watch t.v instead? There are days when I am in pain, pain that makes it almost impossible to think of anything else. And, there are times when I wonder, what do I really do all of this for? Why do I go to church, why do I worship, why do I devote so much time to these kids who are, quite frankly, completely oblivious to how much is really involved in keeping our family running?

In every struggle that I have, God is preparing me. He is preparing me for eternal glory. When my daughter rolls her eyes at me for the fifteenth time in the morning, God is showing me how much sweeter it is when I can gently correct her than if I were to start yelling (but sometimes all I really want to do is blow my top). When I am in pain and even the process of walking across the house is too much to bear, God is teaching me empathy and to rely on Him for everything that I need. When I a feeling overlooked, unloved, and taken for granted, I know that God sees me. God loves me, and He loves that I worship Him.

The eternal glory that I will receive when I finally enter the kingdom of God, far outweighs those daily struggles that truly are light and momentary.