Testing of the Faith

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Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.         

                                                                                                             James 1:2 - 3

I was trying to decide exactly what to write about today for my thankful/grateful post. And as I am thankful for so many things, it is the stresses that keep coming to mind today.

Have you heard the saying, "when it rains, it pours?" Well, it has been pouring hard here. Since losing my full time job last week, I found that they sent my very last paycheck to the wrong address and cannot seem to figure out where it is now (and there are not even that many people that want to answer my phone call looking for help) and my husband became stranded in another state with our now broken pick-up truck. Three people have already tried to work on it and can't seem to figure out what is wrong.

So I have spent time in prayer and wondering why this is all happening at the same time. We seem to go through these times quite often. People have commented to us that they are always surprised at how many things will go wrong for us. I even had a man on the phone commending my husband and I for sticking together over the years and not letting some of our bad luck or situations drive us to divorce. And as I turned to the Bible for help, I was led to this verse (above) from James. I really think that we are building our faith. We are trying to keep looking for the joy. And really, in the end, there is a lot of joy to be seen. My husband could have broken down in the middle of no where, where we didn't know anyone. But instead, we had friends an hour away, it didn't break down on a highway and cause an accident, my husband had his backpack with extra clothing.
The truck might not be able to be fixed and the hubby is stranded right now, but he is only 5 hours away and I can go get him if needed. He is with good people. It could be a lot worse.

Whenever something happens, no matter how horrible it seems, it always happens in the best of circumstances possible. I remember when my husband lost his job about 4 years ago. I thought it was going to be a mess. I thought it was the worst thing that could happen at the time. And then it turned out the best. He became a beekeeper after losing that job. And bee keeping brings him joy and peace. Bee keeping seems to be his calling. So if he had not lost his job, we would have never been looking for a new one and he would have never became a beekeeper. I am hoping that maybe I will find my true calling now too, since my job is out of the way.

So at this point, I am choosing to count it all as joy. Who knows what is in store next for our family. My faith will only grow stronger and I will patiently wait to find out what is next and what new adventures we are to follow.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8 : 28