I haven’t met anyone who hasn’t gone through misery, afflictions, pain, and troubles in life. It happens. It’s a reality of life whether we serve the living God or not. How many times when going through one of these times, have I been told, “see it through, keep the faith, this too shall pass, trust the Lord, there’s a reason for it, don’t give up” and so forth. I’m sure you know exactly what I am mean. Those are words of encouragement; words to convey empathy, words to even encourage the person telling them. They are generally given to encourage, to motivate, and boost one going through a time of difficulty. They definitely help me and give me that invigoration to “hang in there” and move on in my journey.
I gave encouragement early this morning to my 5 year- old grandson who has been going through a trying time at school. He told me, “I’m going to cry on the bus.” “Why, would you do that?” I asked him. “I am scared,” he responded. “Why would you be scared?” I continued. “I’ll be alone.” he said. “That’s not true,” I told him, “your brother and sister are right there with you on the same bus. And, your guardian angel is right there with you. You are not alone. Think about your school friends that you play with when you get there. You have fun and you like your teacher, right?” “Yes, I like my teacher.” “You’re going to have a great day, just wait and see.” As I looked at him, his countenance changed when he focused on the good times he could have. He got off the car with no problem and got on that bus.
I thought about myself and my personal disquiet. So, I began to encourage myself. I said, “Rita, this life is temporary. It prepares you for the eternal life. This pain is incomparable to what will be given you in the next life. Keep that in perspective and rejoice! So I began to rejoice and rejoice and rejoice, in the Name of the Lord. “The pain that you’ve been feeling, can’t compare to the joy that’s coming.” Romans 8:18
ritasalomon 