"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 29:11
"It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes." Psalm 119:71
As a parent, we have all had to allow our children to go through hardships that would build their character; to mold them, shape them and to teach them. To train them 'in the way that they should go.' Proverbs 22:6 It wasn't always easy, but it was for what was best for them.
As adult children, there comes a time when we have to do hard things for our elderly parents. I have a friend right now who is currently moving her mom into a Nursing Home. It's breaking her heart, and yet at the same time, she is aware that her mom needs round -the- clock care and that her mom will be safe in her new environment. In her email to me this morning, my friend wrote, "I honestly don't like this! I know this is not easy for her, but she puts on a brave face. I keep reminding myself she is in God's loving hands, and He is her Good Shepherd."
In my reply, I wrote, "I know it's hard placing your mom into a Nursing Home, but deep down it's the right thing to do and it's at the right time. She needs care."
But then I began to wonder something.
I wonder if our Heavenly Father thinks that way at times? Perhaps He is thinking, "I'm allowing something in your life right now that you don't understand but just know that I'm allowing it because it's what is best for you and it's because I love you. It's going to be hard, but remember, I will be with you every step of the way."
There are going to be hard times in this life...
But as children of God, we can be assured that it is what is best for us...
And we can know that God is with us...!
But that's just me!
"Hard times are purposeful tools for spiritual refinement rather than random suffering. Whenever God means to make a man great, he always breaks them to pieces first. Hardship is seen as the soil where strength, humility and faith grow." Charles Spurgeon
