Sadly, when I come to a difficult time in life, or even a painful situation, I find myself hoping and praying that it ends. Immediately. Or at least soon. Because hard times are bad.
…or are they really? Isn’t it in the valleys, rather than the mountaintops, that we can learn the greatest lessons? Not that we do actually learn these lessons–instead I think we can, if we’d only stop to see what’s happening, or see how we can deal with what’s happening.
But yes of course we can learn on the mountaintops. Unless learning in this sense is “hearing about”, versus the deeper understanding that comes through experience that breeds a genuine acceptance of the truth, though not to imply that specific personal experiences are a prerequisite for learning…
What I’m saying (repeating from others, more accurately) is that if getting through a difficult time can actually help us in the long run, why should we be so quick to wish these times never come upon us?
(based on: James 1:2-3)
We don’t like that which makes us uncomfortable. Pain itself is not pleasant, and most of us when in any sort of pain (physical/emotional) wish for it to end. It becomes hard for us to take our focus off of the painful situation until it ends. It is hard to ignore. Isn’t it amazing that such a thing as pain causes us to grow? That it is the pain in life that causes such great character development, and reliance on God? It is truly an esoterically beautiful thing.