PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
I have lived without electricity, and running water, and indoor plumbing.
I have lived in a house that was so cold in the winter that I could watch as ice formed on the inside walls, while my family huddled around a very small space heater, and my boots froze to the floor before morning.

I have sat at a table with friends and family, praying for the next meal, as some unwary messenger knocked on my door, with food in hand, as God had instructed them.

I have wept with joy and thanksgiving when someone gave me a half of a sandwich, though they did not know I was hungry, after I had spent my money on schooling, transportation and other responsibilities.

I have tried to impress on my family that joy is not based in our material advantages or ease of life.
I have seen that the best lessons come from some of the most strenuous circumstances of life.

I have believed God's word when it says that I can rejoice in the midst of trial, and that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed, and that our light, passing afflictions work for us an eternal weight of glory.

I believe I was able to give greater gifts to my children and grandchildren through my poverty than I could have given if I was a Walton or Trump or Gates.

And I have hoped that they would come to understand that the life God gave them through me, was not only special because God would use it to transform them from light to light, and to prove His faithfulness, but also because in those moments we were privileged to learn that God is our sufficiency and He truly is our all in all.